Adventures in Parenthood: A Collection of Oneshots
by kittycat69
Summary: A collection of oneshots following the ups-and-downs of Auggie and Annie's future as parents as well as the growing up of their children. Future-centric. Multi-Genre. 1-31: Auggie had to accept the fact that his baby girl was now grown up. He had to accept that she had fallen in love. Had to accept she just got married today. And had to accept that he just got replaced.
1. Paint

**a/n: the plot bunnies have crawled out of my moleskin notebook and have been poking at my brain all day...they eventually snuck into my hands and wrote this up...I hope you all enjoy it! Please review!**

**MINOR GRAMMAR EDIT 2/24/2012**

**MAJOR GRAMMAR EDIT 11/28/2012**

_Special thanks to Yuki's Adorable Girlfriend for being my inspiration for most of my stories. Love ya!_

**Disclaimer: **Covert Affairs and its characters belong to USA Network (characters welcome). All rights reserved, of course...I just wish Auggie was mine ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Paint<strong>

August Anderson—ex-member of the United States Special Forces, the best techie in the whole damn CIA, and all around handsome, wonderful blind guy, August Anderson was at a complete loss of what to do.

And his equally beautiful, lovely wife thought it was hilarious.

"It's not funny," Auggie groaned. He frowned in Annie's direction as she completely failed to stifle her giggles.

"Yes it is," she smiled up at him, "It's very funny actually."

"It's not!" He looked affronted, "It's a very legitimate concern!"

"You know it's not," Annie laughed and shook her head. She turned away from her flustered husband. He made a few complaining sounds at her, but having lived together with him for three years now had fine-tuned Annie's skills when it came to ignoring him.

"I just don't understand why we have to pick something that's so…definitive," He said to try and regain her attention.

"Auggie, I'm so proud!" Annie glanced over her shoulder to look at him, "I didn't think you knew what definitive meant."

"I have a higher IQ than you," he responded with an eye-roll.

"That's probably true, but I can still beat you in the art of _sight_," she giggled and playfully smacked his arm to show she was just teasing him as usual.

"Not fair," he then paused. He realized that he'd gotten off track from his original point.

"Come on, Auggie," she took his hand and pulled him across the small room a little ways, "Just trust me."

"No," Auggie used Annie's grip on him to pull her right back into him, "I don't think you should be looking at those."

She sighed.

"Auggie, why?" she groaned. Exasperation laced her voice.

"Because," he said slowly, "I'm not paying for the painter to redo it."

Annie rolled her eyes.

"You won't have to," she did her best to sound reassuring, "I could redo the paint instead."

"No, you won't," Auggie countered, "You'll beg and whine and bribe me and I will end up paying for the damn painter to redo it. You know it as well as I do."

"Oh, I do, do I?"

He nodded.

"And, besides, everyone knows that if you go and choose a paint color just because you think you know what you're getting, then you'll get it wrong."

"Auggie," Annie rolled her eyes, her expression flat, "No one knows that."

"Yes they do," he countered.

"No. No, they don't. Now come on," she pulled Auggie across the room again. He sighe and hung his head dejectedly as Annie pulled him over to the wall of cards, all displaying the dozens of colors available to pick from. All of the cards were dozens and dozens of shades of blue.

"Hm, I like this one," Annie smiled after a few moments as she picked up one of the cards.

"Too bad _I can't see it_," Auggie playfully pouted.

Annie ignored him, "It's called Azure Dusk Sea Breeze," she read from the back of the card, "What do you think? Does that sound nice? It's a really pretty shade of light blue."

"Uh," Auggie shrugged. Azure Sea…what? Annie blinked at him, and then sighed too. She seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"You're useless," she huffed. She placed the card back into its little plastic slot.

"You're asking your husband, who may I remind you is _blind_, to help you pick out paint colors," He focused back into the task at hand, "Personally, I think I'm being as useful as I can here."

"Oh?" Annie asked, "How?"

"By trying to show you these," Auggie grabbed Annie's wrist and led her across the home improvement store isle and back over to the wall of paint cards he much preferred—the greens and yellows.

"Why do you want to use these?" She frowned and then tried to turn around and walk back over to the blues.

"Because," Auggie carefully wrapped his arms around Annie and hugged her against him to keep her from escaping, "They're much more gender neutral."

"We don't have to be gender neutral," she sounded like she was saying it for the tenth time that day, "We _know_ that he's going to be a boy."

"We don't know that for sure," he countered, "And I already told you, when you paint the room based on what you think it's going to be, you end up jinxing yourself and you get the other gender."

Annie just stared at Auggie.

"That explanation doesn't sound very scientific. It's a wonder you passed high school biology," she told him flatly. He stuck his tongue out at her, which Annie tried to pinch between her fingers before he pulled it in again.

"I just don't want to have to explain to our child why it grew up in a room painted a gender specific color," Auggie explained, "The _wrong _gender specific color."

"Well, I don't want to paint the room yellow or green," Annie reached up to wrap her arms around Auggie's neck, "So now what?"

"Hmm," he leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, "Maybe we'll just have to compromise?" he suggested.

Annie narrowed her eyes.

"We just might."

And that was why, three months later, August Anderson stood in the middle of a room painted with the top half of the walls Buttercup Valley yellow and the bottom half Azure Dusk Sea Breeze blue as he gently rocked the blanket wrapped bundle that was his newborn baby.

"Look," his whispered, a small smile on his face, "You're mommy's finally asleep. I can hear her snoring."

The baby gurgled contently as Auggie shifted slightly to reached over and take the slipping coffee cup from his wife's hand before she dropped it. She had finally fallen asleep, curled up in the overstuffed armchair the pair had crammed into their new nursery.

"I'll have to put her to bed too now, won't I?" Auggie cooed. He turned to face down at his little child as he set the cup down on the small table beside the chair, "I might as well have had two kids, huh?"

The baby gurgled again. It curled and uncured the tiny fingers on its little, pudgy fist while looking up at its father through drowsy blue eyes.

"Time for bed," Auggie whispered as he walked over to the baby's crib. He ducked under a mobile, which he was told was decorated with little ducks, and set the baby down, "There you go, sweetie, all comfortable."

The baby yawned and blinked up at its dad for a few moments before shutting its eyes and promptly drifting off to sleep.

"Sleep tight," Auggie whispered when he heard the baby start to softly snore. He turned away from the crib, just in time to hear Annie yawn. She blinked awake with a soft groan.

"Finally sleeping?" she murmured and motioned with her hand to the crib.

He nodded, "Out like a rock."

Annie smiled.

"Finally," she said, "Now it's our turn to go to bed."

Auggie grinned. He swooped down and schooped Annie into his arms. She smiled and snuggled against his chest.

"Hey, Auggie," she whispered as he carried her from the room.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What do you think our baby dreams about?" she asked. Auggie laughed softly.

"Probably about what could possibly possess her parents to give their daughter a blue and yellow bedroom."


	2. Fairy Tales

**a/n: After I posted Paint, I got an astounding response from you readers…most of you asking for more future-centric fics including Auggie and Annie's future children! So I cracked open my moleskin and ended up with this oneshot. I hope it's what you all wanted. I would appreciate it if you all would review after you read this and please tell me if this is the type of stuff you want me to keep writing or if you want me to go in a different direction with it. Please, anything helps! Thanks so much! **

**MINOR GRAMMAR EDIT 2/24/2012**

**Disclaimer: **Covert Affairs is not mine. Some rich dude owns it, I'm sure. If I owned Covert Affairs, my oneshots would become actual episodes and this oneshot would come true!

* * *

><p><strong>Fairy Tales<strong>

_Just like every fairy tale you ever heard as a child, there's ends happily ever after. But what exactly does 'happily ever after' mean? Well, it's not what you might think. There is no peace, there is no quiet. No days lived out with only blue skies and no perfect day dream without interruption. There is chaos and tears and absolute love. Happily ever after is simply the hope you feed your heart to believe there is such a thing. And there is. It's just not as one would expect._

Groggily, the blonde woman opened her eyes, turning her head with much effort to look over her shoulder at the alarm clock. The blaring green numbers alerted her that the time was eight-oh-four in the morning. Perfect. She didn't have to be at work for another … hour.

"Shoot," she grumbled to herself, throwing back her blankets and hurrying into the master bathroom conjoined with her room. She blasted the hot water, only to find it like ice on her skin a second later. Cursing under her breath, she shut off the water and grabbed a towel hanging from the metal towel rack on the wall. Now fully awake, towel wrapped around her body, she noticed the blue hand prints on the marble sink she had missed in her rush.

"Ally," she sighed. She hurried into his closet, quickly changing into her work clothes. A squeal came from the hallway.

"Mama!" a small voice called, "Daddy says you're late again!" She let herself out the door and scooped the little girl up into her arms, making her squeal even louder. She held her with one arm on her hip and gave the little girl an accusing look.

"Ally? Did you get finger paint on my sink?" Annie carried Ally down the hall toward the kitchen. Ally hid her hands behind her back innocently.

"No…" Curly brown hair fell in her eyes and she quickly shoved it back, exposing the blue paint on her hands. Annie shifted Ally to the hip, tickling her stomach and throwing her over her shoulder.

"Caught red handed!"

The girl squealed even more, laughing red faced.

"But Mommy! It's blue!" she defended.

"Wash it off before breakfast, please."

"Mkay, Mommy."

The four year old was exactly like her father, it was very obvious to Annie. Which was bad, because Ally's older sister was exactly the same way. Annie would be an early gray for sure.

"Annie! Hurry up!" Auggie yelled from the kitchen. She rounded the corner, setting Ally in her seat at the kitchen table and leaning down to kiss the top of the petite blonde's head sitting in his seat at the head of the table.

"Good morning, Catie."

She tilted her head back, nose scrunched up.

"Morning, Mommy. Hey, Dad, I think my milk is bad." She reached over the table and handed her father the child size pink glass. Auggie held it up to his nose, not smelling anything toxic took a sip. The sour milk nearly made him gag as he handed the glass back.

"Yep, it's gone bad," he coughed, "Have orange juice instead."

The oldest of the Anderson girls pouted, "But I _wanted_ milk."

Her father rolled his sightless eyes, standing up and moving past the table to where his wife stood in front of the dishwasher, foot poised to kick the life from the machine. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her away from it a safe distance so she couldn't do any permanent damage.

"Morning, Annie," he kissed her cheek, smiling brightly.

"Auggie! The stupid dishwasher stopped working again," she growled.

"I just fixed it on Tuesday," he defended. She looked up at him, the back of her head resting against his chest.

"Will you fix it again?"

He kissed her forehead this time.

"I'll be home at five thirty and it will be fixed before dinner," he promised. Annie smiled brightly.

"I love you…oh and the washing machine, too?"

Auggie groaned.

"You've got to be kidding."

She laughed turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Sorry, baby."

She pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Eww!" Catie and Ally whined in unison.

"Eww!" Augie echoed, moving back to the table to steal a piece of toast from Ally's plate.

"Hey!" she protested.

A honk was heard from the driveway.

"That'll be the driver. Gotta go, girls." He picked a Braille file off the counter and his work bag off the floor, tossing it over his shoulder, "Joan asked me to drop in a little early today. Something about some new intel from Guatemala."

"Drop Catie off at school on your way?"

Catie was already making a mad dash for her backpack.

"Caitlin Isabella Anderson, you better brush your teeth this instant," Annie chided.

Defeated in her plot to make a break for it, the girl ran into the bathroom. Less than a moment later, she came back out, wiping the extra water on her sleeve. She smiled a toothy smile for her mother to see she had done what she was told and then ran out to the car.

"Love you, Annie. I'll see you at work. Well, I won't really _see_ you, but you know what I mean," Auggie chuckled, "And I will be home on time today to fix those machines or may lightning strike me." He held his arms up dramatically as he backed towards the door.

"Wait! Then who will fix the washing machine!" Annie teased with an expression of mock concern.

"Bye, Daddy!" Ally waved.

"Allison Olivia Anderson, didn't I tell you to wash the paint off of your hands?"

Eyes wide, the girl hid her hands under the table, a guilty look painted on her face. Auggie laughed, shutting the door on his way out.

_Just another day in paradise. Chaotic, crazy, unpredictable paradise. Happily ever after was not getting through one day, but rather living that day in its normalcy as something amazing. Because it was their paradise. From finger paints to bills. From birthday parties to baby showers. This was truly more than they could have ever dreamed up. If asked to sum up the end of their story, they'd simply say 'Happily Ever After', because no one but them could understand the perfection in their everyday imperfections._


	3. Earrings

**a/n: Here's another oneshot for the collection! This one is set further in the future than the previous two fics. Please review and enjoy the oneshot!**

**Disclaimer: I've said this a million times, but I don't own Covert Affairs. Maybe I'll ask Santa to get it for me for Christmas haha...**

* * *

><p><strong>Earrings<strong>

"This is a really pretty school, isn't it, Daddy?" Fifteen-year-old Ally Anderson asked, walking side-by-side with her parents as they exited the school's small auditorium, filtering out along with the other families into the school's courtyard.

"It is," Auggie agreed, listening to the hundreds of people around him, "Then again, I guess I'm just taking your word for it."

Ally laughed as Annie poked her husband in the chest.

"She's just appreciate the school's beauty, that's all," she informed him, "But you're right. We're here for Catie, not us."

"And if we don't hurry, we're going to miss her."

Picking up their pace a little, Auggie, Ally, and Annie followed the rest of the families as they circled around to the front of the school, where the students would come out after one last walk through the school's halls.

"We did the same thing at my high school. I can't decide if this part of graduation was my favorite part or not," Annie shrugged, "Although, it was nice to get one last look at the school."

Auggie shrugged as well.

"I don't know," he said, "We didn't do the same thing at my high school. I mean, it sounds nice and all, but it seems to me like it just makes you wait longer to get away from here."

Annie laughed again, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, look!" Ally said suddenly, pointing over the crowd. "They're coming out!" As Ally spoke, the doors opened, letting the latest of Emerson Prep's student generations out and into the world.

A sea of burgundy robes met Annie's gaze as she looked out over the gathering of students, the collective proof of Emerson's educational success illustrated over and over again by every dark red robe and graduation cap worn by each and every one of the hundred or so academy graduates. Auggie hung on Annie's arm as she led the way through the mass of joyful parents and relatives surging towards the throng of equally ecstatic and freshly liberated teenagers.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annie could see the father of two of Catie's friends (she recalled his name was Ken) congratulating his kids, the twin brother and sister pair waving their diploma covers about wildly in front of a father who had jokingly told them time and again that after inheriting his genes, they had no chance of getting past the eighth grade. His wife, Lauren, was hugging her children over and over, and Annie could tell all the way from here that she was informing them that it had been _her_ brains that they'd inherited.

"Oh, look," Ally said, grinning when she spotted a couple lavishing their son with praise, "Ron did it!"

"Catie told you he would graduate early," Auggie said, "She said he's the sole reason she passed physics."

"I don't doubt that at all," Annie answered, "He's probably got an IQ of two hundred and fifty."

Ally nodded her agreement, her loose brown curls bobbing around her head at the movement.

"Now, where's ours?" Auggie asked.

Annie shrugged and stood a little straighter, scanning the crowd and trying to spot her blob of burgundy among so many others. It was difficult, with the only part of the kids that was truly visible being their matching caps.

"This must be what it's like for penguins," Annie muttered.

Turning his head, Auggie smiled as he heard the footsteps he memorized nearly eighteen years ago, "She's coming."

"Mom, Dad! Ally!"

Annie spotted a girl pushing her way through the crowd towards him. She was beaming up at her family from a face framed with stick-straight blonde hair.

"Caitlin!" Annie cried, releasing Auggie and hurrying over to scoop her daughter into a tight hug, "Oh honey, we're all so proud of you!"

"Thanks mom," Catie said, laughing as Annie nabbed her diploma so that she could look it over. She then posed obligingly for a few photos, during which Annie handed the camera over to Auggie so she could stand with her daughter. Auggie never understood why Annie insisted on him taking some of the photographs. He was _blind_, so this clearly wasn't something he was good at. The photographs in question were always terrible; usually a little blurry and he sometimes cropped off someone's arms or half their face. But Annie loved them, saying that Auggie truly captured the moment better than anyone else could. Auggie disagreed of course, but he would never win this battle. Once Annie was satisfied that the moment was sufficiently captured on film she took the camera back, finally allowing access to his daughter.

Ally engulfed her older sister in a huge hug, "Congrats, Catie," she released her sister, a huge grin painted on her pale features, "So, um, does this mean I get your room now?"

"Dream on, little sis," Catie winked.

"Congratulations, baby girl," Auggie said, grinning as she captured him in a crushing hug.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said, still beaming wildly. Bouncing back, she handed her diploma to her sister to see. "Awesome, huh?" she asked, while brushing her blonde hair distractedly behind her ears. Annie smiled when she noticed the earrings she was wearing—light blue and bright yellow. The school had said that all students were to dress formally under their robes, in no colors other than black and white. While she had gone with a simple white dress, Caitlin had been unable to refrain from adding quite a few pieces of blue and yellow jewelry to the ensemble. Her last act of academic defiance she'd called it. Annie just laughed at the irony of it all, remembering the day she and Auggie fought over the paint colors for the nursery for their baby boy. They ended up with blue and yellow…and a new baby _girl_.

Annie, for her part, hadn't minded the earrings the least. There was nothing wrong with pushing the boundaries a little and, as she'd explained to Auggie earlier that day, it was better than what Ken's son wanted to do. He'd attempted to sneak an entire gorilla suit under his robe—something his father had found hysterical. His mother, not so much.

"Yeah, Catie," Annie said, handing the diploma back, "It's pretty awesome."

Catie grinned, her nose wrinkling cutely as she tried not to laugh at her mother's attempt at teenage jargon.

"Now what are we going to do?" Ally asked, looking back and forth between her parents and her older sister.

"Well," Auggie said, tossing one arm around Catie's shoulders, and then the other around Ally's. "How about your parents take you both out to a nice, celebratory dinner?"

"Okay!" Catie and Ally said in unison, their grins widening. Annie grinned too, giving Auggie a sly look.

"Only if the gentleman foots the bill," Auggie rolled his sightless eyes good naturedly as Annie, Ally, and Catie giggled loudly.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, directing the three women towards the parking lot. "Dad will pay for dinner. As usual."

Besides, he thought, as he hugged the three most important people in his life closer, after all that they'd brought into his life, it was the least he could do.

* * *

><p><strong>an: i hope you guys enjoyed it! please review! another oneshot will be joining the collection soon :)**


	4. Princess

**a/n: I know I just updated (literally, like less than a half an hour ago), but I am going away for a couple of days so I decided to reward you all before I go. I will still be able to respond to reviews/PMs but I won't be able to update. Thanks for understanding. Please review and enjoy this addition to the collection!**

**Disclaimer: As always, Covert Affairs is not mine. I'm sick of writing this all the time, but I guess it's either this or I get sued haha**

* * *

><p><strong>Princess<strong>

"Daddy, peese?"

Auggie sighed, tilting his head down at his three-year-old daughter. He could see her expression in his mind's eye. He knew she was looking right back, light blue eyes opened wide and bottom lip jutted out in a pout worthy of an award.

"Catie, I've already told you _two_ stories tonight."

"Peese?" The little girl asked again, fingers fisting in the material of her quilt—powder blue covered in big yellow flowers that Annie had stitched on herself. "Jus' one more story?"

Despite the adorable look he knew his daughter was giving him, Auggie knew he had to stay firm. She had a bedtime for a reason and, gosh darn it, he wasn't going to be the reason she kept missing it.

"Alright," he sighed, recognizing a battle already lost, "Just one more story."

Catie gave a happy cheer and then snuggled deeper into her blankets as Auggie sat back down in the chair beside her bed.

"Which story do you want to hear this time?" he asked.

"You pick!" Catie said, practically vibrating from her excitement. Auggie made a show of hemming and hawing thoughtfully while Catie watched on with rapt attention.

"How about," he said slowly, tapping his chin as he considered all the children's stories he'd learned over the years. There were so many to pick from, and yet none seemed to be quite what he was looking for.

Hmm.

"I know," Auggie said, turning back in Caitlin's direction as inspiration struck, "How would you like to hear about a princess?"

"A pwincess?" Catie repeated, eyes going wide. Auggie grinned. One word and she was already hooked.

"Yes, a princess," he said, nodding gravely, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess with pretty blonde hair who lived deep in the woods with her father, the King. The princess and the King were very happy together, since their kingdom was very peaceful.

"But then, one day, evil knights came to the kingdom and kidnapped the princess, taking her away from her father."

"Oh no!" Catie gasped, "What did th' King do?"

"He immediately went to all his king friends from the other kingdoms, asking them for help to save his beautiful daughter. One of the other kings agreed to help, and sent his son, the handsome prince, to go and rescue the princess. However, some people laughed at the King because the prince sent to rescue his daughter was blind."

Catie gasped, "He's bwind like you, Daddy?"

"Yes, but that didn't stop him," Auggie grinned, "He was a very determined prince. So he went to get the princes."

"All by himself?" Caitlin asked. Auggie shook his head.

"No, the king sent his three bravest knights to go with the blind prince," Auggie said, "The four traveled very far, fighting all sorts of dragons and evil knights until they eventually came to the castle of the evil wizard, for it was he who had kidnapped the princess."

"He s'not very nice," Catie frowned.

Auggie shook his head again.

"No, he really isn't, is he?"

He smiled when he heard Caitlin shake her head vigorously.

"So, the blind prince and his brave knights arrived at the evil wizard's castle. They fought long and hard against the evil wizard, who had all sorts of terrible icky monsters to fight for him. But, no matter how strong the wizard's monsters were, the knights were stronger. They were able to defeat the evil wizard once and for all."

"Yay!" Caitlin cried, beaming, "Then they res—res—um, saved the pwincess?"

"They did," Auggie said, "The prince marched right up to the tower where the wizard had been keeping the princess locked up, and he swept her right of her feet and carried her all the way to safety."

"An' they lived happ'ly ever after?" Catie asked.

"They did. The blind prince and beautiful princess fell in love and got married, and had beautiful and healthy children, and they lived happily together for the rest of their lives, and the kingdom was peaceful for all eternity."

Catie smiled, nestling down contentedly.

"Tha's a good story," she announced drowsily.

"I agree," Auggie nodded, "it's a very good story." He smiled at his daughter for a moment and then sighed softly, "And now that it's over, it's time for someone to go to bed."

"M'kay," Catie murmured, already well on her way to sleep, "Bear?" she asked, reaching a hand out.

"Of course," Augie said, feeling around on the nightstand before snatching Caitlin's white and pink teddy bear up and tucking it into bed next to her. She sighed happily, wrapping an arm around the princess costumed bear. "You two princesses sleep tight," Auggie said, tapping the bear's little stuffed tiara.

"'Night Daddy."

"Good night," Auggie stood quietly, turning out the lights and backing out of the room into the hallway.

"It's about time," a soft voice whispered once the girl was sleeping soundly, "I thought she was going to weasel stories out of you until one in the morning."

"I'm not _that_ much of a pushover," Auggie whispered back, tilting his head to smile in the direction of his wife's footsteps as she appeared behind him, the seven month baby belly making it nearly impossible for her to wrap her arms around her husband's waist.

"That's what you think," Auggie smiled, and then pressed a light kiss to Annie's cheek.

"Did you like my story?" he asked curiously.

"It was lovely," Annie whispered, laughing lightly. "I quite like being a princess."

"Don't worry, Annie," Auggie whispered, turning in her arms so he was now facing her. Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips before bending down to kiss her large belly, "You're _always_ my princess.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I hope you all enjoyed it. Please click the button below and review..they are so helpful you have no idea!**


	5. Blunt

**a/n: This oneshot isn't really parenthood exactly…but oh well. Neither was **_**Paint**_**, now that I think about it. It's a tad out of character, but oh well. It's cute and funny and fluffy! Please enjoy and review!**

**Disclaimer: Covert Affairs isn't mine. Even if I wish it was. :(**

* * *

><p><strong>Blunt<strong>

Oh God.

Oh _God_.

It's been two weeks.

Annie sighed as she tapped at her Blackberry with a stylus, flipping through the blank pages of her calendar.

There was a thin, red line that ran through the days July 31 and August 4. And today it was September 14. No red marks, no red lines beforehand.

She gripped her phone tightly and sighed, closing her eyes.

She remembered he would always have a condom on him somewhere. And she'd take the morning after pills occasionally, just in case.

They had only been married for a month and a half. They were so careful.

Well, not the time to jump to conclusions she thought, dialing her sister's number.

"Hey, I have the day off. You want to get a quick brunch or something?"

* * *

><p>The door chimed happily as Annie entered the tiny café.<p>

"Hey, Dani," she chirped, sitting down in the seat opposite her. She then noticed the tall redhead also sitting at the table, "Oh, hi Kim." Kim had a little boy in Chole's class and had become quick friends with Danielle and, eventually, Annie as well. She was a very relaxed and intelligent woman and she had become very good friends with Annie and Auggie over the past year.

Danielle snapped her compact shut and slipped in back into her purse, eyed Annie dangerously, "You sound tired. Speak."

Annie laughed nervously and stood abruptly. "Let me go get a cup of coffee first…"

Danielle raised her eyebrows and set down a mug of coffee, a Danish and a croissant in front of her, motioning for Annie to sit down again.

"She already beat you to it," Kim replied with a wry grin, as Annie slumped back into her seat, grabbing the coffee and the croissant.

Annie sipped her coffee and said quietly, "I'm late."

Kim and Danielle's eyes widened, "How long?"

"Two weeks."

* * *

><p>Annie lay cuddled on the couch, holding a warm cup of tea gingerly, sipping cautiously, her eyes glued to the TV screen. She sat up quickly as the doorbell chimed.<p>

"Coming!" she yelled, setting down her tea and walking swiftly to the door.

She opened it, and smiled slightly. "Danielle, Kim. What are you guys doing here?"

Danielle grinned happily in turn, held up two grocery bags, and motioned to the pair in Kim's hands, "Let us in first, then we'll talk."

Annie stepped aside and the three walked to the TV room and sat on the various cushions spread on the floor. A James Bond movie was playing.

Danielle reached into the bag and handed Annie a pink and white box.

Annie read the label aloud. "_The World's most precise pregnancy test. 99.9 percent accurate."_

At this Danielle frowned, "That kind of disappointed me. Why can't it just be 100 percent accurate? But not to worry, we bought fourteen more," she finished with a cheeky smile, holding up the other bags.

"Oh my God, Dani..."

* * *

><p>Fifteen plastic cups were lined up against the kitchen counter. The three women stood facing in the opposite direction holding each other's hands, with Annie in the middle.<p>

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

"Are you ready, Annie?" asked Kim, looking worriedly in her direction.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, opening her eyes.

"Okay," exhaled Danielle, "On the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"THREE!"

Annie winced at the loud volume, "God you guys, I swear, sometimes you make me wanna—"

"The hell is it?" wondered Kim, inspecting the tests. "What does a happy face mean?"

Annie whirled around, slightly disappointed that the other two women had seen the results before she had. But her disappointment was short-lived, for neither knew the true results.

Fifteen cups with plastic things sticking out all had happy faces plastered on their label.

"Not sure. Go check the trash can for a box."

Danielle went to the bin and rummaged through, before letting out a small squeal of delight and reading the back instructions.

"Happy face means … OH MY GOD ANNIE, YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

Annie backed into a chair and collapsed into the seat.

"Annie?" called Danielle apprehensively.

"I'm… I'm pregnant," she said with a small smile. She patted her lower torso gingerly, "Hello, baby."

The two girls let out pent-up shrieks and rushed towards the new mom, careful not to crush the new baby hiding in her tummy.

"I'm so excited! I'm going to be an auntie! I've been waiting for this day for years! Auggie is going to be such a great father! Oh, we totally have to go shopping for her clothes!" wailed Danielle, practically bursting with excitement.

"And we have to buy her furniture!" chimed Kim.

"And we have to get his blankie! And his teddy!"

"Girls—"

"And baby bottles and bibs!"

"And strollers and pacifiers!"

"Guys—"

"AND DIAPERS TOO!"

"The ones with the cute little duckies on them!"

"GUYS—"

"And the—"

"DANI! KIM! GET A GRIP."

"Right."

"Sorry."

Annie breathed a sigh of relief, "Besides, we don't even know if it's a guy or a girl."

"Oh, it's a girl for sure. I have women's intuition," replied Kim confidently.

"Well it just so happens that I'm a pro at predicting a baby's gender. I guessed both mine as girls. And I say Annie's baby is a boy," retorted Danielle, smirking with pride.

Kim narrowed her eyes, "You had two girls. Baby girls run in the family. Ergo, it _has_ to be a girl."

Danielle scoffed, "You're so wrong. It's totally a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

"Girl!"

"Boy!"

"Stop it you two!" whined Annie, covering her ears, "You're making me stressed already."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry, sis."

"But hey, if it's a girl, you could name her Charlotte."

"And if it's a boy, you could name him James."

"AND IF YOU HAVE TWINS—"

"You can name the boy JAMES—"

"AND THE GIRL CHARLOTTE!" finished Danielle excitedly, grinning wickedly.

Annie raised an eyebrow, "Or not," she couldn't help but smile along with her friends, "Names will be fun."

* * *

><p>Annie stood sadly in front of her mirror for a while, lifting her shirt and patting her flat tummy, "This," she said, "Is going to go away for a while." No more sexy clothes. Only frumpy maternity ones.<p>

But it should be worth it. For that "bundle of joy". Annie was going to be a mom!

Yes!

Knowing that you were a mother made you want to do all sorts of weird motherly things around the house. Cooking, for one.

Annie hummed happily, as she shut the refrigerator door, setting down a long slice of packaged salmon on the kitchen counter. The pregnancy tests had been long since disposed of, and the counter had been wiped clean, thanks to her newfound motherly skills.

As she chopped garlic, she wondered nervously what Auggie would say. Backtrack, she thought, how the hell was she going to tell him in the first place?

"Worry about that later," she muttered, pulling out a cooking tray and slapping the salmon on it. "Cooking first."

* * *

><p>Auggie came home with a tired look on his face, but looked up in confusion when the scent of—salmon, was it?—wafted to his nose. He came into the dining room with a surprised look on his face, one that pleased his wife.<p>

"You cooked?" he asked incredulously, "By yourself?"

"_Yes_, by myself, thank you very much."

"Are you sure?" he inquired with a smile, remembering the time she ordered takeout, but insisted that she made it all herself.

"Absolutely positive. Come, try it!"

They sat down opposite each other and Auggie placed a slice of salmon in his mouth and smiled warmly, "Not bad," he said, licking his lips.

Annie giggled and reached for the bottle of wine, and then poured him a glass before reaching for her glass of water, "I followed the recipe your mom gave me."

_Speaking of motherhood…_

"Oh, that's nice."

_Yes it is nice! You what else is nice? I'm pregnant!_

"God, work was so boring today, I felt like I was gonna die…"

Annie just nodded and smiled. How the hell was she going to tell him?

_So Auggie, what do you think of a mini-me…_

"Joan was giving us all such a hard time today…"

Maybe she wouldn't tell him. Maybe she'd run and hide in the Philippines for nine months and come back with a baby.

_Hey Auggie, look what I found! Isn't it cute?_

"I swear, listening to hours of surveillance tapes is the worst thing that ever came to the face of the earth…"

Annie grinned politely and said, "Mhm, yeah."

_I think babies are nice, Auggie. Don't you want one? Good, 'cause one's on its way!_

"The entire tape was just static."

_Haha, funny thing Auggie, so Dani and Kim and I decided to get pregnancy tests on whim, and whoo! I'm pregnant ... ha-ha…!_

"But Joan made me go through it all three times, saying that my ears would be the only thing to pick up any sounds."

How was she going to tell him? Maybe in a calm, even voice.

_Sorry worked sucked today, Auggie. But hey, guess what? I'm pregnant!_

"But even I couldn't hear anything. Perhaps there was an interference with the tapes."

Annie smiled at him, and took a good stab at her salmon. Damn salmon.

_I'm fucking pregnant. I'm. Fucking. Pregnant._

Nice, sweet tone.

"But she made me listen to all those tapes. All day long. Just static."

Annie frowned. No, too harsh.

_Auggie, honey, I'm pregnant…_

"You're so lucky it was your day off. I was so antsy all day today. Anything is better than listening to static for hours."

Lose the honey. They weren't that kind of couple. No honey, sweetiepie, honeycakes, God no. Nicknames just weren't their style. Okay then. _I'm pregnant_. Blunt, and to the point. No need for beating around the bush, right? Right?

"Hopefully Joan finds what she was looking for. Anyway, thanks for listening, Annie. I just needed to vent. You know how these things get," he said softly, reaching for her hand.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted, eyes widening. Whoops, that was supposed to be something along the lines of _"Yeah, it's no problem…"_

His hand tightened upon hers, "You're… You're pregnant. Oh my God. Oh my God!" he yelled excitedly, grabbing her face and kissing her senseless. He stood and rushed to her, enveloping her in his arms, smiling contentedly. "We're going to be parents," he murmured into her hair, and she leaned against his chest.

She shrieked with surprise as he swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

"Might as well make the best of our time before you get too big…"

"Big? _Auggie_!"

* * *

><p><strong>an: hope you all enjoyed it. Please review!**


	6. Perfect

**a/n: Here's another oneshot for the collection. It's kind of short but oh well! Short and sweet :) Oh and I am trying to write one of these oneshots about how Auggie and Annie chose the names for their daughters...but my mind is drawing a blank and I am having a hard time figuring out how to do it...so if any of you have any ideas, please write them in a review or PM me :) thanks so much for your help!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. Damn.**

* * *

><p><strong>Perfect<strong>

Auggie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and opening his eyes. The endless darkness met his tired gaze. He turned his head to the side, listening for something. He found what he was looking for. Auggie smiled as he heard his wife's quite breathing, reaching a hand over to brush a strand of hair from her face.

With a contented sigh, Auggie let his hand ghost over his wife's cheek, allowing it to pass along down her shoulder and her arm, coming to a rest over her hand. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before leaning over and giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

Then, as quietly as he could, Auggie lifted himself from their bed. He tiptoed over to the chair in the corner, where his robe always lay. He gathered it up and slipped it on over his boxers before he exited the bedroom.

Prowling silently down the hallway, Auggie slipped into a room not far from his own. He didn't turn on any lights, since they would be pointless given his lack of eyesight and, besides, he had been in the room so many times that he already knew the layout by heart. He smiled as he headed straight for the window. Or more specifically, the crib underneath it.

"Hello, Caitlin," he whispered as he reached for the crib, leaning down to kiss the top of the baby's head.

As if sensing her father's presence, the little girl's eyes flew open. She gurgled happily and reached her tiny hands towards him.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Auggie said, lifting the little girl into his arms and cradling her against his chest.

Caitlin gave another happy gurgle and a sigh, curling up against her father and falling back asleep.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Annie whispered, appearing behind Auggie. He nodded as she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me again what she looks like."

"Well, she has your nose," Annie said, and Auggie could hear the smile in her voice, "Your nose and your hands."

"Yes," Auggie said, leaning his cheek against Annie, "I'll bet she's as beautiful as her mother. She probably has your lovely eyes and your gorgeous smile."

"Actually, her eyes are blue."

A look of confusion painted Auggie's features, "But we both have brown eyes. It's very unlikely that our child would have blue eyes. Blue is recessive."

Annie shrugged against his back, "I don't really want to go into the biology of it all right now, Auggie."

"She's beautiful."

"Annie gave a 'hmm' of agreement, reaching up one hand to stroke the baby's cheek, "She's wonderful."

Auggie shook his head, "Not just wonderful, she's perfect."

Annie giggled, "Yes, she is. And she should also be in bed, like a certain man I know."

"Yeah, okay," Auggie sighed, lowering Caitlin back into the crib and allowing Annie to lead him from the room. She pulled him back into their bedroom and took his robe, tossing it back onto the chair. She then climbed back into the bed, followed quickly by Auggie.

Auggie lay down beside his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist as she tucked herself against him.

"Annie," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

"Hmm?" she hummed, nearly asleep in his arms.

"I love you," he pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss.

Annie smiled, returning the kiss and whispering, "I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>an: I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review! And please help me by sending me a PM or writing your idea in a review :) THANKS!**


	7. Raw Carrots

**a/n: I was struck my the plot bunnies. They crawled out of my moleskin and attacked me..so now it's about 2am and I am writing this oneshot. And I was going to wait to upload this until around Christmas time…but having it sit in Document Manager for six months is just cruel! So, everyone, it is now officially Christmas in July! Happy Christmas, guys! Oh, please note that Catie is four years old in this oneshot and so the word choice and grammar in her sentences is obviously wrong…it's not a mistake..it's on purpose to make her speech seem more four-year-old like. Thanks. Enjoy and please review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. I'm sick of writing this, but I really don't want to get sued.**

* * *

><p><strong>Raw Carrots<strong>

**Christmas Eve, 8:00 PM. **

"Time for bed, Catie," Auggie sighs as the movie ends. _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_, their favorite Christmas movie. He watched that movie so many times as a child that he can actually see the movie scenes in his head, despite not being able to truly see them now of course. Everyone watches this movie as a child. It's old, but timeless, as most holiday movies are.

Catie, who is just a couple months shy of turning four, jumps up from her seat and stomps towards the kitchen, "I has to get cookies first, Daddy!" She exclaims loudly.

"Shh!" Auggie whispers quickly, "Your baby sister is asleep upstairs, Catie. Please don't wake her. Mommy just got her back asleep."

"Mkay, Daddy," Catie changes her steps to a near-tiptoe pace, moving silently slow into the kitchen.

Annie grins as she bends over to give Auggie a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up off the couch to help Catie get a paper plate and a glass, because you can't have cookies without milk.

Catie picks out the two biggest cookies in the jar for Santa. She can't pour the milk; it's too heavy for her, so Annie helps her.

"Can I weave a carrot for the reindeer?" She asks, her sky blue eyes smiling at her mother.

"Alright, just a couple. You wouldn't want the reindeer to get sick," Annie says, "But after that it's time for bed."

"Ok Mommy," Catie nods, rummaging in the refrigerator for a carrot. She pulls out the biggest one and sets it on the table beside the cookies and milk.

"Is that everything?" Annie asks, smiling at her daughter.

"Yes," Catie answers decisively, "Everything is weady for Santa now."

"Except that you're still awake," Annie reminds her.

"Not for long," Catie says with a wide grin, hugging Annie around the middle, "Night," Releasing her mother's waist, she says, "I love you, Mommy."

I smile, "I love you too, Catie."

She then wildly sprints from the kitchen, pouncing on her father's waiting lap and engulfing him into a fierce bear hug, "Night, Daddy. I love you too."

"Love you too, kiddo," He tells her as she runs up the stairs and off to her bedroom.

"How long do you think it will take her to get to sleep?" Annie asks, walking back into the living room and turning off the television and the lights.

"She'll be up until midnight if I know her," Auggie replies, getting up from the couch and stretching.

"We'd better get to bed too then."

**Christmas Day, 2:00 AM.**

Annie peers into her eldest daughter's bedroom cautiously. Catie lays sprawled out on her bed, fast asleep. Annie grins because it's obvious that excited near-four year olds could never pull an all-nighter on Christmas. When Ally woke up fussing around midnight, Annie was sure that the cry had woken up Catie. But both girls were now peacefully asleep.

Annie closes the door quietly and walks into her bedroom down the hallway.

"She finally asleep?" Auggie whispers, sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep from his sightless brown eyes.

"Yes," Annie whispers and nods, "It's showtime."

Auggie and Annie creep downstairs and into the living room, arms loaded with piles of gifts that were previously hidden in their closet and under their bed. They gently flick on the light (more for Annie's sake than Auggie's) and Annie arranges the presents under the decorated tree. Auggie grabs his dress shoes from near the front door and places them in front of the fireplace before tiptoeing to the kitchen for the flour. Returning to the fireplace, he sprinkles flour around the shoes, careful to not put too much, but still enough that Annie says the shoeprints show. Then he takes the shoes and wipe them off to destroy the evidence. One thing left, the cookies and milk.

"She always picks the big ones doesn't she?" Annie whispers.

"Of course. She's my daughter." Auggie replies simply.

"That she is," Annie smiles, "We could put them back in the cookie jar, she'll never know."

"Ok, we could take a smaller cookie instead, so that there are crumbs left," Auggie suggests.

"And what about the carrot?" Annie asks, taking the cookies gently to the cookie jar to be eaten another day.

"I guess we have to nibble at it," Auggie says, taking the milk, now warm from sitting out for so long, and dumping a good portion of it down the sink.

"That's your job," Annie decides, taking out a small cookie to munch on.

"You get the cookie and I get the carrot?" He asks in disbelief.

"Um, yeah," Annie responds through a mouthful of cookie.

He dumps out the rest of the milk in the glass, "Lucky me."

Annie dumps the cookie crumbs on the paper plate and looks at Auggie expectantly.

He trades the glass for the carrot and take a few bites, hoping it will be convincing enough before setting it back on the table.

"Next year, we're using baby carrots," He huff, bits of carrot flying out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Sounds like a good plan," Annie whispers, "But for now, let's just go back to bed."

Annie takes hold of Auggie's foreharm and he follows her upstairs, swallowing the last few bits of carrot left in his mouth. Next year, Auggie thinks, he gets a cookie too.

**Christmas Day, 7:00 AM.**

Any moment now Catie will burst through the bedroom door and jump and land on me yelling about how Santa came and we have to come see everything. Auggie grins at the thought, eating that carrot will be worth it to hear her so full of joy.

He will miss it when the magic ends. When shoe prints in flour will no longer be amazing, when cookies won't be left out half the night with milk and carrots, when she won't come bursting into their bedroom on Christmas morning yelling about how they have to get up _right now _and come see what Santa left. Children grow up, and before he knows it, her five-mile long Christmas list of stuffed animals and games will turn into a five-inch long list of money and electronics and CDs.

"Mommy! Daddy! Santa came! Santa came!" Catie screeches excitedly, launching herself onto the bed, "It's 7:01 you have to get up wight now and so we can go open the pwesents he left!" Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement and wonder, the one night a year that was truly inexplicable for every young child. Auggie wishes he could see the magic painted on her face, but the picture in his mind will have to work instead.

Annie grins and sits up, stretching, "We're coming Catie, why don't you go start sorting them into piles for us?"

"Ok, Mama," Catie says with a smile, leaping off their bed and running downstairs and into the living room.

Auggie sit up and dangles his feet off the side of the bed, sliding on his slippers before standing, stretching with a groan. He leans over and grabs his robe from a chair near the foot of the bed.

"I'll get Ally if you make the coffee," Annie stands and slips on her robe on the other side of the bed.

"Okay."

Yea, Auggie's going to miss this when his baby girls are teenagers and too old for Santa Claus and reindeer or the Easter Bunny or ghosts and vampires. But for now, he'll enjoy every minute of it. Even if it does taste a little like raw carrot.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I hope you guys liked your Christmas in July present! For clarification, Catie and Ally are about three years apart. Thanks for reading..please review!**


	8. Magic

**a/n: I know I have put this off, but I have now finally gotten around to it. The births! A monumental step in any parenthood! I have been asked to write the births..and I have finally done it! Don't worry, there aren't any gritty details or anything! This is Ally's birth. If you guys also want Catie's birth…make sure to leave a review and ask me for it..then maybe I will write it up! Thanks everyone and please review and please enjoy this oneshot!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. Poo.**

* * *

><p><strong>Magic<strong>

Auggie was impatiently and nervously waiting in the hospital waiting room for Annie. Alongside him were Danielle and her husband, Michael. They heard that Annie went into labor suddenly. Auggie and Annie were expecting their second child. Their first, a three year old named Caitlin, was half asleep in Michael's lap. Auggie, as any nervous father would be, was pacing the hallway, his sightless eyes filled with worry and his eyebrows knitted together with restless energy.

Auggie was not only concerned for Annie's condition, but the baby's as well. During the birth of their first child, Annie had suddenly gone into respiratory distress, which of course compromised the life of his unborn child. Auggie had been waiting in the hallway, pacing as usual, when he heard the loud beep and the doctors shouts. Auggie had never felt so helpless in his life. They preformed an emergency c-section on Annie, quickly removing the baby before shocking Annie back to life. Auggie held his breath. For what seemed like ages, there was a steady beep from the machine. Until, finally, Auggie heard the monitor beep back to normal and his baby cried.

Naturally, Auggie was once again worried about his wife and unborn child.

"Don't worry, Auggie," Danielle said while putting her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure that both Annie and the baby are going to be okay."

"But what if neither the baby nor Annie makes it?" Auggie said in a concerned tone, "The doctors already warned us that it's common for these things to happen again."

"Don't worry, Auggie. You just need to have faith. Everything will work itself out," Michael said reassuringly.

Auggie sighed, letting Danielle lead him back to the chairs in the waiting room, "Okay."

Two short minutes later, a doctor came towards the three adults.

"Mr. August Anderson?" he asked.

Auggie stood up and said, "Yes?"

The doctor said, "Don't worry. Everything went smoothly. Congratulations, you are now the proud father to a healthy baby girl."

Michael smiled, shaking Catie awake as Danielle hugged Auggie, who was in both an ecstatic and relieved state.

Catie sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "What happened, Daddy?"

Auggie smiled, lifting his daughter off of Michael's lap and holding her in his arms, "You are now an older sister, kiddo."

"Can we see them?" asked Auggie, turning in the direction of the doctor.

"Of course you can," the doctor replied, "The immediate family can go first."

Auggie carried Catie and allowed the doctor to lead him down the hallway and into Annie's room. The doctor led Auggie and Catie to the bedside before leaving the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

"Hey, Annie."

"Hi, Auggie," replied Annie.

"Hi, Mommy!" Catie smiled, still wrapped in her father's arms.

"Hello, Catie," Annie smiled, "Are you excited to be an older sister?"

Catie nodded, her blonde hair flying everywhere. She reached up a hand to brush her bangs from her blue eyes.

"How are you feeling?" asked Auggie, concern painted on his handsome features.

"A little painful, but I'm fine. It's certainly easier the second time. Especially without all the complications. Would you like to see the baby?" Auggie and Catie nodded. Annie then carefully unwrapped the little bundle and inside a little pink blanket was a baby girl with a small patch of curly brown hair and vibrant green eyes. She looked shockingly like Auggie.

Auggie lifted a finger, tracing the face of his newest daughter, "Hello, baby girl."

"She's so cute!" Catie grinned.

"What does she looked like?" Auggie asked, still tracing the outline of his daughters face with his forefinger.

"Pretty much the baby girl version of you," Annie chuckled, "Except with really vibrant green eyes."

"Green eyes?" Auggie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "That's not possible."

"What's not possible?"

"You and I both have brown eyes, Annie," Auggie explained, "How is it that we have one daughter with blue eyes and another with green?"

"Magic."

"That's not possible, Annie."

"I don't really care about the science of it all," Annie giggled, "They're both perfect and that's all that matters."

"She's going to be a handful," Auggie laughed, "Just like her older sister."

Catie just grinned.

"What's her name?" Catie asked.

"Allison," Auggie smiled, "We are naming her Allison. Allison Olivia Anderson."

"That's really pretty, Daddy," Catie said, "I like that name."

"Me too," Auggie kissed Catie's forehead.

"I'm happy I have a sister, Daddy," Catie said, "Can I have a brother too?"

Annie visibly groaned, which caused Auggie to burst into laughter.

"Um, I don't think so, kiddo," Auggie chuckled, "Sorry."

Catie shrugged, "It's okay. I like my baby sister."

Auggie nodded, "Me too, hun. Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>an: cute and fluffy and full of adorable little babies. No complaints here! Please leave a review :) THANKS!**


	9. Splash

**a/n: My first update in a while. Sorry about that, everyone! It's short and sweet...and hey it is summer break after all! I hope you all enjoy this oneshot..it was inspired by a little thunderstorm we had a couple of nights ago. Thanks and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own freaking Covert Affairs. I'm pretty sure you have figured that out already, hm?**

* * *

><p><strong>Splash<strong>

"Hmm?"

"What is it, Catie?"

"Why is the sky…crying?"

"It's not crying, baby girl," Auggie chuckled at his young daughter, "It's just rain."

"What's rain, Daddy?"

"Well. See, water condenses and . . .um, falls because it's denser than the air and uh, yeah," Auggie swallowed hard, "It's a little hard to explain."

Suddenly a crack of lightening shot across the sky, distracting Auggie until Catie jumped and buried her head in her father's sweater.

"What was that, Daddy!" Catie screamed.

"That's lightening, Catie. It sometimes happens when it rains. And the noise is called thunder."

"So it's not a monster?"

"Nope. See, look at the sky," Auggie motioned to the sky above their house. It was really coming down hard. Catie wandered across the backyard, staring at the wild lightening arcing across the dark grey sky.

Splash!

"Daddy...where did the baby lakes come from? They weren't in our yard yesterday."

"Those are puddles, kiddo. Lots of people like to jump in them and splash around," Auggie flashed back to a memory of his own childhood where he spend hours jumping in puddles in his yellow rain coat and his lime green froggy rain boots. His parents would sit on the covered porch and watch him, nursing a bottle of wine and listening to the radio floating outside through the open windows.

His memories were interrupted by a loud splash.

"Daddy, come jump in the puddles with me!" Catie giggled and jumped in her first puddle. Instantly a wave of cold water consumed her feet, making the blonde-haired girl shriek with surprise. Laughing, she pleaded with her father, "Peese, Daddy?"

Auggie sighed and admitted defeat. Call it a fault, but he couldn't say no to his daughter. Feeling foolish he walked around until he felt his several hundred dollar leather shoes sink into a sticky muddy rain puddle.

Splash!

"Daddy!" Catie shrieked again before running back at him. Soon they were jumping around as fast as they could, each trying to outdo the other with a bigger splash.

"Ooof!" Auggie slipped and landed on his rear with a laugh.

"I think we had better go inside, Daddy" Catie giggled and tried to pull her father to his feet. Auggie stood, trying desperately to brush the mud from the seat of his pants.

"We'll go inside and dry off," Auggie took his daughters hand and led her across the yard towards the house, "Your mother is going to be mad about all the laundry."

"That was fun, Daddy."

"Yes," Auggie smiled, "Yes, it was."

* * *

><p><strong>an: fluffy and cute. aw. care to review? thanks! I hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	10. I Loved Her First

**a/n: I promised an update, didn't I? So here it is! Also, this is the longest oneshot in this collection..topping off at over 2,000 words! Now, since I am neither man nor father, I hope everything worked out...Auggie is a tough character sometimes. So criptic and mysterious. And hot, but that's not really the point haha ;) Well, please please make sure to review. In all seriousness, reviews make writers want to write more. Simple, huh? Reviews equal updates. Ta da! Anyways, please review and please enjoy this chapter. Thanks, everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. Take that! Now you can't sue me! Ha!**

* * *

><p><strong>I Loved Her First<strong>

He stands there, sipping the drink that had been thrust into his hand absently, not really noticing what it tasted like. It was truly a wonderful evening, the summer wind provided the perfect outdoor air conditioning and he was told that the sinking sun added the vibrant backdrop to the laughing, dancing couples. But yet he couldn't help but feel melancholy, the faint tinge of sadness clinging to him despite his efforts to shake it off. He sighed; his drink felt about half-empty now and he reached over and set it on the tray of a nearby waiter. He then turned around, waving his cane and making his way across the lawn to the large stone staircase.

Leaning against the railing, he could hear every sound coming from the garden below. He heard her voice near the center of the crowd. He could practically hear the smile on her words and he knows she must be lost in her own world, as if confined to a bubble. Someone told him earlier that her straight, blonde hair was swept up into some kind of style that he'll never remember the name of, gems glittering in the pale strands. So many people had mentioned her beauty tonight.

"I thought I'd find you up here, Auggie."

"I let her go."

"You did what was best."

"I know," he murmurs, "But I let her go."

Green eyes and blonde-brown hair. She had always told him that was her dream guy and he had been foolish enough to think she would change her mind; that he himself would be good enough for her, would be all she would need. He had been wrong but he accepted that, in time, because really, there was nothing else he could do.

"She'll always love you, you know."

A promise and he knew it was true just as he knew it was true that he would always love her. Life goes on, time moves on, changes things, but not this. This would remain forever, just like the stars at night and the constant rush of the ocean waves that roared dully, just behind the tinkle of the fountains in the garden.

"I'll always love her."

"She knows. And he knows too. He'll take good care of her, just as you did."

"I know."

A pause. Auggie fumbled with the cane in his sweaty hands.

"He makes her happy."

"I know," he sighs.

He turns towards the woman standing next to him, and she smiles radiantly, trying to comfort him the best way she knew how too. Her blonde hair was curled slightly and pulled back, away from her face, and her eyes shone happily, if tiredly, and he manages to smile in her direction. He reaches out and grasps her hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Will you miss her, Annie?"

She looks shocked at first, and then nods, letting her eyes return to the couple happily dancing in the garden, "Yes, I will. But that's okay because she's happy and we knew that this day would come," She sends him a smug look, even though he clearly can't see it, "_I_ prepared for it."

"I thought I had too," he murmurs quietly, "I hoped and prayed that she would find someone to make her happy, to care for her, to love her just as much as I love you. I just never expected the pain that comes along with it, of letting her go finally, after all these years, all those memories…"

Annie laughs quietly, resting her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her waist in response, automatic through years of practice. She reaches up, patting his hand lightly as it rests on the marble balustrade, wedding band gleaming in the lights that have suddenly been lit around the premises, keeping the night darkness away from the party.

"Mom! Dad! What are you two doing up here?" A slight frown appears between her two eyebrows, something she inherited from her father, or copied from years of watching, "Aren't you two enjoying the reception?"

"Of course we are, Catie," Annie replies, stepping away from her husband to embrace their daughter. Annie's arms wrap around Catie and she smiles widely, "You are so beautiful," she murmurs tightly.

"Dad?" Catie asks, tilting her head to the side, "Are you alright?"

"I'm great, Kiddo," he smiles to reassure her, going over to press a kiss to her forehead and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She smiles widely, bright blue eyes glittering from the light and he can't help but shake his head at her. His hand lightly brushes against her cheek and he feels her smile beneath his sensitive fingertips.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about you when you were little."

He can picture it perfectly, the lazy summer days when, for once, there wasn't a case or paperwork, and both Annie and himself would have some saved up vacation time. They would spend hours in their large backyard, just to spending time with the family, their cell phones turned off, the beeper too, and he wouldn't check his emails for a week or two. Catie would spend all day in the small plastic pool, laughing and splashing, the sunlight bringing out the freckles she was so proud of as a child. The baby would fall asleep in his arms as he listened to the sound of Catie splashing in the water and he felt the sun kiss his face. Annie would sit beside him in silence and read a book but, for Auggie, just having her near him was enough to make his day brighter.

Then at night, after her mother had bundled her up and made her change into pajamas after a long bath, she would pester him into coming into her room to read her a fairytale. Anything with a princess was always her favorite. She would lie in bed, fighting off the tiredness and giggling quietly to herself while she snuggled down in her blankets with her stuffed animals, asking for _yet another story_ while Annie rocked the baby to sleep in the room next door.

"Dad!" she exclaimed now, glaring at him, "_No_ embarrassing stories about my childhood. Not at my wedding, do you understand?" she demands as her new husband eventually finds them, catching the end of the conversation and laughing quietly as he wraps his arms around her.

"I find the stories about your childhood hilarious though, Catie," he teases.

She spins in his arms, eyeing him sharply as Annie and Auggie both smirk to themselves, knowing her moods, her temper, better than anyone else ever could, "That's precisely why they are _not_ to be told."

The boy is smart and knows better so he backs down easily, "Well, it's time for a group picture. My parents are already waiting near the fountain with my older brothers. And I think your sister is trying to flag down the photographer."

"Alright," she sighs. She turns to her parents, smiling at them hopefully, knowing how much her mother hates her picture being taken, "Come on you two, enough hiding, you have to mingle. And smile. This is a good day, a happy day," Her eyes turn to her father and her smile is addicting, "Please Daddy, be happy? For me?"

"Of course, I'm happy," he promises.

Eight hours of labor and an emergency C-section later, Catie had been born healthy and beautiful. Seven pounds exactly and twenty-one inches long. He can still remember every detail, every sound, despite the years that have passed. He had been worried over her, scared out of his mind and waiting blindly until that first cry filled the room, only then was he able to breathe out a sigh of relief. Only then had he been able to pay attention to what the doctor was saying, was able find the scissors in his darkness and cut the cord and let her go to be bundled up and cleaned.

Catie had been a serious baby, thoughtful and clever like her father, preferring to fiddle with things, to try and figure out how they worked. She hadn't been into playing, more into destroying. Not like her little sister, Ally, the creative and artistic and energetic one in the family who smiled early on at two-and-a-half months and was always quite the handful. No, Catie had waited half a year before letting her parents see, smiling one day while her father was holding her, showing her the glass ornament on the Christmas tree they had bought in honor of her first Christmas. Annie was lucky enough to catch it on film.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Catie, and I am happy. Don't worry."

"But I do worry. It's my job, after all."

He shakes his head, linking arms with his wife and blindly following them down the stairs and through the dancers and the party-goers to the center of the garden where the bronze fountain spurts water in a dizzying array of rainbow droplets from the mouths of mermaids and fish. Auggie is happy, is proud, to know that all the hard work they had done in order to ensure she had a happy childhood finally paid off, to see her smiling and happy. Even if it is in the arms of another man.

"Alright everyone, smile!" the photographer calls once they've arranged themselves somewhat presentably. He snaps the pictures, five in total, just in case, and then allows them to join the party once again.

Auggie is heading back to the veranda, back to listening in solitude, when he feels a hand on his shoulder and turns around, breathing in the husky scent that he has quickly, over time learned to identify with his new son-in-law. His blonde-brown hair was disheveled from many fingers running through it numerous times, green eyes happy yet nervous.

"Mr. Anderson…err, Auggie…um, sir…I just…I just wanted you to know that I'll take care of her…you don't need to worry."

"I know, James," Auggie smiled softly, resting his own hand on the boy's broad shoulder, "I loved her first. From the moment I heard her, I knew I would love her for the rest of my life. It's the same with Ally too. Children do that to their fathers. I hope that you get to experience that someday, James. Because then you'll know that it doesn't matter who loves her first, it just doesn't work that way. Please take care of her."

"I will. Forever. Don't worry, sir."

The bonding moment faded when Catie walked—more like skipped—over to the two men, grasping her new husband by the arm and practically dragging the happy man away, chattering non-stop in his ear while he smiled and nodded and kissed the top of her forehead quickly.

Annie approached Auggie, smiling and wrapping her arms around her husband from behind, resting her head on his shoulder, "You did what was best."

"I know."

"You let her go."

"Yeah."

He turns, smiling down at her as she giggles, teasing him with a grin, "Now, was that so hard?"

"No. She's happy and he'll take care of her."

"Exactly. Now, just think, we get to go through this again when Ari _finally_ gets the balls to propose to Ally."

He laughs quietly, pulling her close, "I still can't believe she's dating _Jai's_ kid," he grumbles.

"It's funny how it all worked out, isn't it?" She sighs, gazing at their oldest daughter once more, "You love her. She will always know that."

"Yeah. I loved her first, but it doesn't matter."

"You're going to do this to me again at Ally's wedding, aren't you?"

"Of course. After all, I loved her first too."

* * *

><p><strong>an: I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review! Thanks so much, everyone!**


	11. Magnetism

**a/n: In my last chapter, I mentioned a relationship between Ally and Jai's future son (Ari). This little note caused a lot of people to send PMs asking about their relationship and for details about it. So, here it is! A oneshot about the relationship of Ally and Ari. I hope it turned out like everyone wanted. Please stop by and write a review..perhaps request what the next oneshot should be about? My ideas are running low right now. Please review and enjoy this oneshot.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own Covert Affairs or Auggie or Annie or Jai or any of that. However, I do own Ally and Catie and Ari. Take that!**

* * *

><p><strong>Magnetism<strong>

The first time he noticed it, it was far too late. There would be no rescuing his youngest daughter from herself, for she was long gone to the art of mischief. And, as her father, he would be the guardian at the center of it all.

"Daddy?" she whispered sweet, rocking back on the heels of her bare feet.

"Yes?" He yawned, opening his eyes and sitting up, turning his head in the direction of the doorway. He was the only one in the bed (again) because Annie had a mission and was somewhere in Europe (again). Auggie was used to this situation and knew what to expect.

"Sorry, I know it's late. Well. Early. But do we have a power drill?" She batted her green eyes innocently.

Auggie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as sleep still trying to take control of his brain. A power drill? Last time it was jumper cables and a few hundred feet of rope. What would she possibly do with a power drill at this hour?

Auggie knew better than to try and figure it out by himself. She was a mystery and so were her adventures.

"I'm sorry, what?

The teenage girl pouted for effect.

"Power drill. No? I thought we did."

She clasped her hands behind her back.

"Uhm. In the closet near the garage. But…why?"

"Thank you, Daddy!"

And, without answering his question, she was off (again), down the hall leaving her father to fall back onto his bed in utter and sheer confusion (again).

They had gravitated towards each other over the span of many years. It was quite obvious of course. Auggie and Annie frequently brought their young children to work, letting them quietly play in an unused conference room. Jai had the same idea and therefore brought his young son to play as well. Catie had kept to herself for the most part, preferring to read instead of playing with her younger sister and Ari. They were both destructive and loud and energetic and Catie simply was not. Therefore, Ari and Ally quickly became the best of friends and, as years flew by, their innocent play-dates turned into not-so-innocent real dates.

Auggie tried to reason with it. Maybe they just were similar, but somehow he refused to accept that as the true answer. Whatever it was, Ari and Ally were joined at the hip, eyes always sparkling with some sort of chaos and mischief and it no longer came as a surprise to their parents.

They were drawn together. Cut from the same mold. It was her creative side—the part that must have been her mother shining through. At least that's what she told Auggie when she painted; and usually in bright colors—pinks, yellows, and light blues, brightly and boldly covering the canvases which hung on nearly every inch of available wall space in her room.

He understood the best he could. While he didn't quite grasp the _why_ he did grasp the _need_. So when her phone would ring or she'd lock eyes with Ari from across the DPD… she was off, her pixie laugh echoing as she'd kiss her parents quick and run off on her next adventure.

That's probably what got her into trouble in the first place, he figured. Her adventurous spirit that carried her everywhere. From hiking too far into the woods to attempting to skateboard. She was rather fond of paint ball, he realized, and he couldn't keep her away from contact sports to save his life.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" She looked up from her notebook, unfolding her legs from under her to stretch as he joined her at the kitchen table.

She turned her eyes back to the page, "So, I was doing some calculus homework, but I think I'm stuck. Could you help?"

And in the blink of an eye she was a different person.

The same person, really. Just the part that wasn't climbing trees and cheating at Monopoly and sitting on the roof in December.

It was two hours later when her phone went off and, without removing her eyes from her work, she answered it.

"Hey. What's up? Oh, Really? Where? Can we get in?" Her eyes sparkled, "Should I bring extra rope just in case?"

Auggie knew without asking that she would be off on another adventure shortly. These late-night phone calls happened very frequently. It had almost completely stopped surprising him. He would leave the porch light on for her and she would sneak back inside at a very early hour. He had just grown used to it. Ari was a good guy and therefore Auggie knew his daughter would return home safely every time.

Some fathers would be appalled and furious at her actions and downright scared for her safety and wellbeing, but not Auggie.

He had reached the conclusion that it was magnetic. They simply couldn't help it. They were both pulled at adventure—at creativity and energy and danger among other things—in a way that excited them down to a molecular level.

Who was he to stand in the way?

He may not understand their way of thinking, but if there was one thing he did understand, it was magnetism.

* * *

><p><strong>an: thanks for reading. Perhaps swing by and write a quick review? thanks! **


	12. Autumn Leaves

**a/n: It's not yet autumn, but the idea came to me so I just had to write it up! Besides, it's adorable! I hope you all enjoy it..please review!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Covert Affairs. Sorry, guys.**

* * *

><p><strong>Autumn Leaves<strong>

The autumn leaves rustled together as a cool fall breeze blew through them. Winding through the branches the wind danced with the leaves, pulling and pushing each one before moving on to the next. As it left the tree it caught one final leaf, which it wrapped around and plucked free of its branch before dropping it from the sky. The lone burgundy-colored leaf fluttered down through the air to land softly on the hem of a bright pink coat. It was quickly scooped up by pale hands to be examined closely by bright blue eyes filled with wonder.

Turning the red leaf over in her hands, the pink coated girl looked up at the trees above them and asked, "What makes leaves change color?"

"Fall," her companion said simply, tucking his hands further into his jacket pockets and resting his head against the trunk of the tree he and the little girl were sitting under.

"I know that, Daddy," the young girl said, smiling and giving the blind man a playful shove, "I mean what makes it happen? What in the leaf decides that it doesn't want to be green anymore? Green is a pretty color, after all. And why does it turn brown or yellow or…," the girl held up her leaf, "…red?"

"I don't know, Catie," Auggie said, shrugging one shoulder as he thought back to his high school biology classes years and years ago. He distinctly remembers learning about this subject in his junior year of high school. But, of course, the facts have faded over time. Besides, does anyone _really_ remember all the useless information they learned in high school bio classes? Auggie certainly doesn't. He was too busy studying for his technology class..._and_ flirting with the hot senior girl in the second row. He clearly wasn't paying attention to that particular lecture, "Well, I'm almost positive it involves a lack of sunlight and a slower production of chlorophyll during the autumn and winter months. I don't remember, Catie. It's a very scientific process, you know. And I'm not sure of all the details. Maybe you should ask someone else. Maybe your mom or your aunt or your teacher."

"But Mommy and Auntie Dani and Miss Gresham aren't here," Catie giggled, "Duh, Daddy."

"Well, then you should ask them when you see them," Auggie sighed, smiling slightly at his daughter.

"Are you sure you don't know how it works, Daddy?" Catie asked curiously as her father accurately grabbed for the red leaf she had held in front of his face. The blonde haired girl quickly pulled it away moments before he grabbed it from her tiny hands.

"Yes, I'm sure," Auggie said, wrinkling his nose at Catie, "Biology was never my strong point in high school. I prefered computers."

_And that senior girl in the second row...but that clearly didn't work out_, He added silently with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

She stuck her tongue out at him, and then snuggled up against his side. Auggie smiled, draping an arm around her tiny shoulders.

"Then you should make something up."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to."

Auggie made a sound somewhere between a moan and a whine.

"It doesn't have to be real or anything," Catie said, "Just something to explain why my leaf is red. I know!" she shouted suddenly, sitting up quickly with pent-up excitement, "Make it a story, Daddy! Like those ones you tell me before bed!"

"A…story?" Auggie asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Yes," Catie nodded.

Auggie raised an eyebrow at his young daughter. Catie gave him a pleading look even thought she knew full well he couldn't see it. He wrinkled his nose at her, but when her pout didn't let up, he sighed. He knew when he was beaten.

"Okay, fine," he huffed, earning an excited 'yay!' from Catie who snuggled up closer, "So, uh, once upon a time..."

"Daddy," Catie whined, "Those are saved for bedtime stories. Not for daytime stories! Can't you be a little more original?"

"Nope," Auggie answered smugly, "So, like I was saying, once upon a time there were leaves. That were, uh, green. But they wanted to be other colors."

"So how did they do that?" Catie asked when her father paused. The brunette man raised a finger to his chin in thought.

"Umm, with paint."

"Paint?" Catie repeated, eyes growing wide with wonder and excitement. Auggie nodded wisely.

"Yes, kiddo," He smiled, "Paint, of course."

"How?"

"Buy being painted," Auggie answered, "You know, with paint brushes and stuff."

"But who painted them?" Catie asked curiously.

"Who do you think painted them?" Auggie asked. Catie hummed in thought then rested her head against her father's broad shoulder.

"Elves," she answered him, grinning wide, "Cute little tree elves, of course."

"Okay then," Auggie chuckled, hugging his daughter a little closer, "So one day the leaves decided they wanted to be other colors besides green. So the cute little tree elves came with their paint and painted them yellow and red and brown."

"If it's tree elves then how come you never see them?" Catie questioned. Auggie was about to remind her that this was just supposed to be a made up story when he noticed the intelligent yet mischievous glint in her voice.

"You never see them because…because they come out at night, of course," he explained, turning in her direction and grinning at her, "Tree elves are very shy, you know."

Catie nodded intently, grasping onto his every word.

"Do the cute little tree elves make them fall out of the tree?" she asked.

"No, that was the leaves idea," Auggie said. He found he kind of liked the challenge of trying to come up with this stuff on the fly. When it was a bedtime story, at least he had a few moments to figure out his story before he walked into her room to wish her goodnight. This was much different, "It's because…because the leaves wanted to show their colors off to everyone else. And so, once they're painted and the paint dries, they leap from the tree. That way everyone down here gets to see them."

"Like my leaf," Catie said happily, looking down at the bright red leaf in her small hands. Auggie nodded.

"So, now you know why leaves change color," he said, "And fall from trees." Catie nodded this time.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said, looking at her leaf for a moment and then turning blue eyes up at her. He smiled in her direction, and hugged her tighter.

"Any time, Kiddo."

* * *

><p><strong>an: Cute, eh? Now, I know I ramble a lot, but I would really really appreciate a review. Please! Come on, I know you want too ;)**


	13. When Ari Met Ally

**a/n: It's that time of year…school is officially starting for many of the wonderful people who visit this site. To commemorate this (horrible) moment, I hope to cheer you all up with an adorable school-themed oneshot. It's filled with lots of cute little children kindergarten fluff and innocence and happiness, which I hope will make you all feel better about the impending doom that is the new school year. Happy reading and please review!**

**Something I just realized about this title, "**_**When Ari Met Ally**_**" sounds like the that movie title "**_**When Harry Met Sally**_**", which literally made me laugh forever. Hope you all find it funny too.**

Disclaimer**: **I don't own Covert Affairs. Bummer.

* * *

><p><strong>When Ari Met Ally<strong>

"Give him back!" Ally cried, her little five year old arms reaching up to try and snatch the teddy bear being held above her head.

"Come on, jump for it!" the second grade bully said, laughing as he dangled the bear just out of poor Ally's reach.

"Please, Mitch," Ally sniffled, "Teddy didn't do anything to you."

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to do anything to _'Teddy'_," Mitch said, saying the bear's name with a mocking drawl. He then grabbed one of the bear's arms in each hand, "How hard do you think I'll have to pull to tear him half?"

"No!" Ally shouted, lunging for the bear, "Let him go!"

Mitch simply laughed, using his foot to shove the little girl away from him. Ally landed with a thump in the dirt. Tears splashed down her front as she heard the sounds of stitches breaking. Mitch laughed louder as one of the bears arms came free, stuffing leaking from its ripped end.

"Oops," Mitch said, his voice sarcastic, "Looks like I broke it." A thoughtful look then came over the boy's face as he tossed the arm to the ground. It became a cruel grin, "I wonder- does its head come off too?"

"No!" Ally wailed, burying her face in her hands. More ripping sounds reached Ally, who cried louder.

"What is going on over here?" a stern voice asked, causing both children to look up. They found a teacher standing over them, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"We're just playing," Mitch said, attempting a winning grin. Judging by the look the teacher was giving the boy, she wasn't buying it. She snatched the bear from his hands and handed it back to Ally and then grabbed Mitch's wrist and marched him away, telling him off loudly as she did.

Rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes, Ally looked down at her tattered bear. On its side, where there had once been an arm, nothing but a ragged edged hole remained, from which hung a small cloud of cotton. The poor creature's head hung from its neck by a small bit of still connected fabric, more stuffing poking out of the neck and severed head. Sniffling, Ally gathered up the remains of her stuffed friend just as her own teacher called for her students to return to class.

"Oh dear," Ally's teacher said when she noticed the destroyed toy that Ally was carrying back into class, "What happened to your bear?" she asked.

"M-Mitch," Ally snuffled, rubbing tears from her bright green eyes. The teacher nodded, immediately knowing what the young girl meant. It was almost daily that her kids came to her complaining about something or other that boy had done to them.

"There there," the teacher comforted, patting Ally on the shoulder as she gently pulled the bear from her little fingers, "When your father comes to get you we'll let him know what happened. I'm sure he'll get you a new bear."

Ally just sniffled sadly as the teacher walked away, taking the teddy bear's remains and depositing them in the waste basket by her desk. She then reached under her desk, pulling out a large box filled with numerous smaller containers.

"Alright class," she called, getting her students' attentions, "Time for arts and crafts! Today we are making cards for people who we think are feeling sad and need cheering up! So come and get your supplies and some paper, and then take them to your desk and you may begin."

Ally trudged up to the teacher, not at all in the mood for making something to make people feel better. She didn't look up at the teacher as she gathered her supplies, or at the boy who bumped into her as he grabbed some paper.

"Sorry," Ari said, looking over at the curly-brown haired girl he'd bumped in to. She didn't say anything back, just quickly grabbing some colored paper before hurrying back to her seat. Ari frowned. He'd seen what happened today during recess, when her bear had been pulled apart by the bully from the second grade. Although their hatred of Mitch was something all kindergartners generally rallied together on, no one had gone to Ally's aid that day. This was mainly due to that fact that Ally didn't really have any friends in the kindergarten class.

"That's not fair," Ari whispered to himself as he watched Ally find a table near the corner by herself to sit at, "Someone should make her a feel better card."

The light bulb that came on over Ari's head at that moment made him grin widely and he hurried away from the crowd of students getting craft supplies and over to the waste basket holding Ally's damaged teddy bear. Making sure no one was looking; Ari reached a hand in and nabbed a fist full of the bear's stuffing before quickly scurrying away.

Over at Ally's lonely table, the brown haired girl was just putting the finishing touches on her simple card—a folded piece of light blue paper with a teddy bear scrawled on the front. The inside was blank. Ally sniffled again as she stared down at the card, not sure what to say to her gone forever bear.

"Hi!" a voice suddenly said, startling Ally. She looked up, quickly scrubbing at her watery emerald green eyes. Standing beside her table was a boy with short jet black hair and tanned skin, a purple card clutched in his fingers.

"Umm, hi," Ally responded shyly. She wasn't used to the other kids coming over and talking to her. And then she realized she had seen him before, "Wait, do I know you?"

The boy nodded happily, "Yep. Our parents both work for the agency so I see you around a lot," he grinned widely, "I'm Ari Wilcox."

"Oh, I remember now," Ally blinked a couple of times, "Um, hi. I'm Ally Anderson."

"I know, silly," Ari laughed, "I said I already know who you are."

Ally nodded, "Yeah."

"Anyway, I saw what the older kid did to your bear today," Ari looked down, fighting the light pink blush that was creeping onto his cheeks, "That was really mean of him. So…I made you a card so you can feel better!"

"Uh," Ally muttered, taking the gift that was suddenly thrust at her. She stared at Ari a moment longer, and then looked down at the card in her hands. It was a square of purple paper, cut with the skill of five year old fingers, and decorated with crayon scribbled words—'I'm sorry about your bear but now you can still have him with you!'. Under these words, held on with copious amounts of Elmer's liquid glue, was a big sloppy heart made of some of the white stuffing from her ruined bear.

Ally stared down at the card, emerald eyes wide. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever given her.

"Umm, well, I'mma go now," Ari grinned, motioning to the table where his friends where calling his name, "I guess I'll see you around the agency sometime, Ally."

"Wait!" Ally called, setting down her new card and grabbing the other one she had been working on. She quickly wrote 'thank you, Ari' inside it, with a big red heart, and handed it over to the dark-haired boy.

Ari looked at the card he held in his tiny hands and grinned, "Thanks, Ally!" he exclaimed, and then scurried off to rejoin his friends.

Ally smiled happily, and then turned back to her own card. She poked the stuffing heart, and grinned wider.

Now she could keep more than her bear close. And could keep her first friend close too.


	14. Eyes Like Rain

**a/n: I am on an updating roll! Yeah! Here's the next installment of this collection. Thanks so much, as always, to my amazing beta cotedepablo911. She's a saint and a life saver. And I hope you all enjoy this oneshot. Please leave a review on your way out (you know you want too!). So, without further ado, the oneshot shall begin...now!**

**Note: **This oneshot is obviously randomly ordered. However, I have been working on a chronilogical list of the chapters. If any of you are interested in the chronilogical list of the chapters, please PM me/ask for it in a review and I'd be more than happy to send it over. Thanks!

**Disclaimer**: Nope, I don't own Covert Affairs. Not one little tiny bit of it. Zero. Zilch. Nada. However, I do own this wonderful plot and my three equally wonderful OCs. Well, at least I own something, eh?

* * *

><p><strong>Eyes Like Rain<strong>

August Anderson was a warrior. He had fought in the Iraq war—the fate of the world resting in the balance. He had stared death in the face; loss in the face.

He would always be a warrior. A fighter. A soldier. No matter what he did or said against that fact, it was true. He would always be this way because, when he opened his eyes and saw the black nothingness, Auggie was reminded once again that no one can escape the horrors of a war.

Hardened and strengthened after years in Special Forces, he moved on to right more wrongs. He became an agent. And a good one at that. He helped put away criminals and killers and terrorists. He stood up for the innocent and protected them from the evils of the world. And, despite the blackness surrounding him, once again he was strengthened like a soldier. Like a warrior.

He felt that nothing would ever budge him. That he was a beacon of strength and stability. But, as August Anderson had learned in his years, when ever in his life he was sure about something, there was always the chance he could be wrong.

And how wrong he was.

He didn't think it could happen, honestly. He was a true warrior; tough and strengthened and stable. And yet, his partner, his wife, his lifeline had nearly (and almost literally) brought him to his knees with two small words.

"_I'm pregnant."_

But he stood his ground. He was elated, exuberant. He stood by her side through every doctor's appointment, endless hours of nursery decorating and the constant argument over silly paint colors, a baby shower that was far too energetic for either of their liking, and midnight ice cream runs. He was scared out of his mind as held her hand through delivery, even as she screamed and cursed and threatened his life—with promises of a slow and painful death on his part. He didn't deny his wife's strength and threats, and he actually feared for his life in some moments. But he was strong, because he was a warrior, and so was his very beautiful, very angry wife.

And before he knew it, she had stopped. She had stopped screaming and shouting and telling him how much she hated him and she had melted into an emotional puddle of new mother with her baby girl wrapped in her arms.

Caitlin Isabella Anderson was welcomed into the world on a perfectly crisp winter's night in January.

Auggie was a very excited new father and never more excited than when he brought home the baby girl with her mother's honey blonde hair and blue eyes the color of rain. She cried quite a bit and, when she wasn't crying, she was sleeping and when she was sleeping, so were they.

What Auggie Anderson did not know was that Catie would do something to him no one but her mother had ever done before. She would ruin him. Break him down. Melt his heart and soften that tough, warrior's heart until it was so very much putty in her tiny, tiny little hands that he cried with joy.

So while his wife was asleep, he crept into the blue and yellow nursery without so much as a sound and gently lifted the barely fussing infant girl up into his arms. And as he sat down in the white rocking chair next to her window, Catie bundled against his strong chest, Auggie Anderson understood.

He understood why he spent years of his life in Special Forces. He knew why day in and day out he worked so hard at the agency to keep killers and criminals and terrorists off the streets of the world. He knew why he defended the innocent.

Without a shadow of a doubt, he understood, listening to the soft breathing of Catie asleep in his arms, that he would never stop making the world safer for the little girl. The innocence of the little girl with eyes like rain.


	15. In the Land of Make Believe

**a/n: Let the record show: I am beyond obsessed with my little OC love. Having two little OCs to fluff around with is so much fun. For this additon to the collection, I bring you a memory from my own past. Yes, this little moment happened between me and a old friend of mine back when we were 5 (I think). I hope you all enjoy reading this! It really is quite adorable, if I do say so myself! As always, I want to thank my A-MAZING beta cotedepablo911. I owe her so much, its crazy. She's a life saver. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this oneshot. Thanks so much for reading and please review. Thanks, everyone!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs. I do, however, own my three very wonderful OCs, so at least I own something, right?

* * *

><p><strong>In the Land of Make Believe<strong>

Ari Wilcox walked slowly and oh so carefully, making sure to be especially quiet as he crept through the towering trees. He could see his destination up ahead—the dark, shadowed opening of a massive cave set into the side of the mountain. And through the shadows, Ari could just make out the glowing red eyes of his enemy as he waited for the brave knight to arrive. Taking a deep breath, Ari drew his sword and held his shield high before him, and stepped out into the clearing before the cave.

A deep rumbling sound echoed from the cave as Ari moved into the open. The black-haired knight realized after a moment that it was murderous, rumbling laughter.

"Who dares to challenge me?" a deep voice boomed from inside the dark cavern.

"I do!" Ari called out loudly in response, scraping together all of his courage and raising his sword towards the dark voice, "I've come to save Princess Ally!"

The evil laughter returned, louder this time as it echoed from inside the cave, "I will eat you before you can set foot in my cave!" the voice shouted.

"I know your secret!" Ari shouted back, a small smirk appearing on his face as he raised his sword and boldly continued, "You are blind, beast! You cannot defeat me if you can't see me!"

This statement was immediately followed by a loud, ground-shaking roar, as Ari's words had clearly angered the beast within the cave.

"Do not underestimate me, Young Knight!" the deep voice shouted in rage.

It was followed by a giant, scaly black beast emerging from the cave. It was dragon, at least three times bigger than any Ari had seen before. He took an instinctive step back, raising his sword defensively against the massive beast. It only continued to laugh, and then blindly lunged towards the brave knight, his mouth wide open, showing off his gleaming white, razor-sharp teeth.

Ari quickly rolled out of the way just in time, resulting in the dragon's fangs burying in the dirt rather than Ari's armor. Roaring loudly with rage, the dragon tore his head free of the ground, and lunged after Ari again. This time, Ari used his shield to block the monster's attack, and then stabbed at him with his weapon. The dragon laughed, dodging away quickly.

"You will not beat me so easily," the huge dragon roared as he continued to leap blindly at Ari. But each time the dragon attacked, Ari was able to dodge him or block him, and each time he took a swing at the beast he was able to get a little bit closer.

Roaring angrily at the realization that Ari was about to beat him, the dragon made one final lunge at the knight. Fire burst from his jaws as he threw himself at Ari, trying to burn him to a crisp and swallow him up.

But no matter how strong the dragon was, Ari was still faster, and he ducked under the beast's maw just in time. Then, while the dragon struggled to redirect his flames, Ari thrust his sword forward, its blade sliding under one of the creature's legs and up into his heart.

"No!" the monster wailed, stumbling away from the knight, "I cannot be defeated!"

The dragon stood a moment longer, wings spread wide in disbelief, and then it tumbled forward to lie in a large heap on the hard ground, finally slain at last.

"Sir Ari!" a soft voice shouted from inside the cave. Ari turned around just in time to see Princess Ally running towards him, her faithful unicorn companion right behind her.

"Princess Ally!" Ari called as the curly brown haired maiden approached, "I'm so very glad you're safe."

"Thanks to you," Princess Ally grinned happily, "How could I ever repay you for such a deed?"

"I don't need repaying, Princess," Ari quickly assured her with a wide grin of his own as a blush creeped over his tanned cheeks, "I'm only doing my knightly duty."

"Well then, at least take this…," Princess Ally declared. She reached around her neck and lifted off the pendent she was wearing, a heart carved from a gem that glittered every color of the rainbow and hung from a thin silver chain, "…as a token of my gratitude, Sir Ari."

"Thank you very much," Ari smiled, taking the glimmering rainbow necklace and slipping it over his head, "I will wear it close to my heart forever."

Both Princess and Knight blushed deeply at this.

"If you would like, we can ride back to the castle together," Ally said, motioning to her trusty unicorn. Ari smiled softly, extending his arm towards his princess.

"I would be honored to ride with you, Princess Ally," he responded, his dark eyes sparkling with true happiness.

And so the pair climbed onto the white unicorn and Ally wrapping her arms snuggly around her savior's waist as they rode off into the woods and towards the safe kingdom beyond.

* * *

><p>With a long, happy sigh, August Anderson sat up from where he was laying sprawled across his kitchen's tiled floor, paper towel roll sword stuck under his arm and blanket and kitchen chair cave behind him. He smiled as he listened to the sounds of Ari and Ally galloping off on the girl's unicorn hobby horse; the soft, steady thump of Ally's plastic, rainbow-striped heart necklace bouncing rhythmically against Ari's chest as they ventured through the living room woods.<p>

Sighing in contentment, Auggie settled down to listen as his daughter and her friend played, lost in the land of make believe, where simply slaying a dragon brought you together with your love, a unicorn could sweep you both off your feet, and all it took was a rainbow heart to unite true lovers in a happily ever after.


	16. College and Coffee

**a/n: I'm sort of obsessed with my cute little made-up couple. Enjoy!**

**GRAMMAR UPDATE: November 2nd, 2013**

**Disclaimer: _I do not own Covert Affairs. I do, however, own Ari and Ally...so I own most of this story._**

* * *

><p><strong>Coffee and College<strong>

_It was_ one of the best schools in the country. In the entire world, for that matter. Getting accepted was the easy part. He was the boy who had never gotten a B in his life and pretty much dominated the country's swim records for four years running. Waiting to see if Ally, who had been accepted to numerous colleges for many different reasons, would choose his school…_that_ was the hard part.

She had been accepted to art schools in France and California, a culinary school in Italy, a music school in New York City, and numerous universities located across the country for majors such as education, English literature, world languages, and a million other things. Her future was bright and open and she had so many choices. The nerves in Ari's stomach wouldn't let him sleep for awhile, and he spent a lot of time looking into her top choices to see what kind of programs they could offer him, but nothing looked as promising. He wanted study Astrophysics. He was determined. He picked his top choice, and frankly he didn't want to go anywhere else.

So that's why, three days before the end of Senior year, when she snuck into his half-boxed up bedroom through the open window at two in the morning with an acceptance letter grasped in her pale hand, quietly declaring she'd decided, he nearly had a stroke.

Harvard it would be, for both of them. Something good would come of all the work they had put into the past four years. For all those late nights of constant studying, for the million cups of coffee and all those disgusting energy drinks they consumed. For four years of straight As with no recognition and everything to show for it.

They spent a long time that night curled up together under the dark green comforter on Ari's bed. Ally excitedly rattling on and on about all the different things she could major in. She had so many choices ahead of her, and she couldn't wait to explore them all and find the right one for her.  
>She rambled on about the classes and sports and clubs and parties she thought sounded fun and the books they could share—the classes they could take together and which ones they'd have to take alone. And Ari just smiled. After so long, and so much struggle and hard work, this felt like the final puzzle piece, setting down the path to happy ever after, if you believe in that fairytale stuff.<p>

One semester in, and the weather had started to turn cold and Ally and Ari seemed to spend less and less time together as they prepared final projects and studied for final exams. Ally spent most of her time in the library and Ari in the computer lab. By the time either of them could spare an hour for dinner, both were exhausted and agreed popcorn in Ari's room would be good enough. Sometimes the popcorn wasn't even popped all the way before someone fell asleep on the other one and they gave up on dinner all together.

But there was one thing that the two of them had agreed on within the first week of school they had never wavered on and, if you asked Ari, it had saved their relationship.

"Wake up, sleepy head!"

Ari felt his covers torn off his warm little nest and the mattress shifted a little.

"Ari, get up! It's time for coffee!"

The promise of coffee and Ally's company was very appealing, but Ari, still mostly asleep, curled tighter into his pillow and started to fall back to sleep.

"Ari Wilcox!"

"Go away," Ari mumbled, "It's Saturday."

Ally laughed and leaned down to kiss his cheek over and over again.

"Whaaaat?" he whined.

"Get up and go on a coffee date with me!" she insisted. Her bubbly laughter made Ari smile into his pillowcase.

"Mmm, coffee."

"Yes, coffee."

Ari peeked open one eye at her and she kissed him lightly on the nose.

"I'm going back to my room to find my jacket. When I get back, please be dressed and ready to go."

He caught her hand as she stood up to leave the room, "But it's cold, Ally Bear. Let's have coffee in. Or no coffee at all. My bed is warm, come join."

The girl grinned, "Nope," and with that she skipped out of the room to find her jacket.

Ari sighed and breathed in the lingering smell of her perfume and detergent. He opened his eyes and glanced across the cold, too-small college apartment bedroom at his too-small college apartment bedroom closet.

Ten minutes later, when Ally knocked on Ari's bedroom door, he was lacing up his boots. He was fully dressed, teeth were brushed, and he was ready to brave the chilly morning air for his weekly coffee date.

"And you even tied your shoes by yourself," she teased as she leaned against his doorframe.

"Have you been talking to your father a lot lately? You've clearly inherited his horrible sense of humor."

Ally rolled her eyes playfully and pulled her little pink gloves out of the pocket of her jacket.

"Catie taught me that one actually."

"I'm sure she did," He stood up and picked up his own coat from his desk chair. He gave his textbooks a fleeting glace.

"We should study later," she assured him, "But if you don't take me to get coffee, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get no studying done at all today."

And oh, the power she held over him.

"When you put it like that," he winked at his girlfriend, "I would rather _not_ get anything done today."

Ally rolled her eyes, "Fine then. No coffee, no sex."

That caught Ari's attention.

"You know, there's nothing I'd rather do then get coffee with you, baby."

Ally rolled her eyes again and held her gloved hand out for him.

"I love you," she told him as he entwined his fingers with hers. He smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Is that why you followed me to school?"

She scoffed, bumping his shoulder as they headed out the front door of the apartment and down the skinny hallway towards the main doors, "_You_ followed _me_ to school, Ari."

"I did not!"

"You most certainly did. Besides, if you were here all alone, who would take care of you? And who would make sure you got enough sleep and didn't skip dinner every single night?"

Ari's laughter echoed quietly against the snow-covered landscape.

"Ally?"

"What?" she answered, kicking at the light snow that had started to fall.

"I love you, too."


	17. Merry Christmas

**a/n: Christmas in…March? Oh well! Actually, I wrote this oneshot in September and it was supposed to be posted for the holidays. But my USB was lost. Thankfully I found it and decided to post this story now instead of waiting for the next holiday season. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little piece of winter wonderland cuteness. Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs. I do, however, own Ari and Ally and Catie.

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas<strong>

Moonlight streamed into the room. It glimmered through the cream, gauss curtains and danced across the vaulted ceiling. It wasn't much past midnight, and not much past Wednesday. But even though this room, cast in this light, should never be experienced this early on a Thursday morning, he was awake.

And with good reason. Because, from down the hall in his eldest daughter's room, he heard quiet laughter. Tinkling, childish laughter. The same laughter that had filled the day before in a whirlwind of Christmas Eve activities and three tiny tykes that were so excited for Santa's arrival.

The children were inseparable. They had been raised together through their parents' work—through friendly dinner parties and neighborhood block barbeques and quietly playing together in an empty conference room at the DPD.

The parents of these three children were used to hosting all of them at the same time for an overnight stay, or a birthday party, or a summer outing at the beach. What they had not expected was children's proposal of spending Christmas together. _'That way Santa would only have to make one stop.' _No parent could argue with the logic of turning multiple errands into one errand, after all.

So, when the children all piled into little Catie Anderson's room for the night, the parents spent the next three hours filling the living room with bag after bag of presents from Santa. It looked like a toy store had exploded under the tree, which had to be moved back against the wall to accommodate for all the presents.

But now, those three small children (who had slept peacefully through several loud crashes, a few broken Christmas bulbs, and a little bit of colorful language from both fathers) were wide awake and giggling in the moonlight.

Auggie sat up in bed and listened to the sound of his wife asleep next to him. She seemed to be immune to the children's laughter, he realized. There was a small thump followed by a gasp. The house went silent again. The laughter stopped abruptly.

And then Auggie heard the distinct sound of Catie's bedroom door as it slowly creaked open. The blind man sighed quietly. He dragged himself from the warmth of his bed and headed for the hall to intercept the kids before they could get downstairs.

* * *

><p>"Do you see him, Ally?"<p>

The smallest of the bunch, little curly light brown-haired Ally Anderson, was on her tip toes. She was trying to see over the railing. Her flowery pink nightgown swished around her knees when Ari Wilcox accidently bumped into her as he too tried to see Santa.

"Nope," Ally shook her head wildly which sent her loose curls bouncing around her face as she continued, "I think he's invisible, Ari."

"He is not invisible," the little boy answered with an eye roll at his best friend. He had dark hair and lightly tanned skin (a shade somewhere between those of his mother and father) and was dressed in a matching set of green Hulk pajamas, "But we're supposed to be asleep. What if he leaves?"

"I don't want him to leave!" Ally looked startled and worried. Her tiny hands gripped the railing.

"Me either," Ari nodded in agreement.

"Catie, stop moving!" The smallest of the bunch whispered, "I'm going to fall!"

"Ally, you're heavy!" The blonde girl whose back her younger sister was standing on protested, "You saw the presents already. Now, get off me so I can see too!"

"Just, stop moving—wow! Look!"

"Shhh!" Catie insisted.

"Look at all the presents, Ari!"

Ari grinned and tugged Ally off of her older sister's back, "See? I told you. He's knows we are all here!"

Catie brushed herself off and grinned in excitement at the two children younger than her, "I wonder who got the biggest one!"

Ally gasped happily, "Let's go down and see!"

Catie swayed for a moment. She looked down at her younger sister and Ari, "But Mommy said we had to wait for her and Daddy in the morning…"

"Catie, we promise we won't touch or anything," Ari reasoned with her. He gently grasped Ally's hand and tugged her towards the steps. He then turned back to shoot Catie a very sneaky grin that he clearly inherited from his father's side of the family, "You're not…_chicken_, are you, Catie?"

Ally gasped, "Ari called you chicken, Catie."

"I'm not a chicken," Catie defended. She crossed her arms across her teal nightgown in protest.

"Are too," Ari teased. He edged backwards down the first step.

Catie's face turned pink and she balled up her tiny fist and hit the boy in the shoulder, "I am not!"

"Ouch! She hit me! You can't hit! Santa will bring you coal."

"Santa's already been here, dummy," Catie informed him with a gesture towards the living room.

Ari pouted and turned around to go down the stairs, "Well, I want to see if the big one is mine.

Ally eyed her older sister for a moment, "Pweese, Catie."

"Oh, okay," Catie shrugged.

The three children made their way slowly and clumsily down the stairs to the living room, just in time for Catie and Ally's father to catch them.

"Hey! Kids!" Auggie hissed from the top of the stairs, "It's not time for presents yet!"

His sudden voice halted all movement from the children as they crept towards the pile of gifts.

"But, Daddy," Ally whined softly, her expert puppy-dog pout already formed on her pale features, "We couldn't sleep."

Auggie didn't budge. His sightless eyes narrowed as he pointed back toward Catie's bedroom.

"Aww, man," Ari sighed. He followed Catie as the girl quickly trudged up the stairs. Ally continued to pout as she followed her sister and Ari into the bedroom. She closing the door softly behind them.

* * *

><p>Many hours later, after hundreds of feet of wrapping paper, dozens and dozens of toys, and thousands of pictures, Christmas morning had slowly started to wind down. The Andersons and Wilcoxes were all gathered in the kitchen for a late breakfast.<p>

The parents, that is. Their children had fallen asleep in various spots on the living floor, exhausted from being awake since way after midnight and from running around the living room for the past couple of hours. They had torn into their presents with an excitement only children could carry on Christmas morning.

So their parents, after plucking their sleeping children from the mounds wrapping paper, moved them back up to Catie's room to sleep off their excitement.

"Shh, do you hear that?" Auggie asked suddenly. The kitchen fell silent as the four adults listened intently for what Auggie heard.

"I don't hear anything," Jai said over his coffee.

Both Annie and Reva shrugged.

The blind man grinned, "Exactly. They're _quiet_."

No one said anything for a moment. The rarity was not lost on the parents as they enjoyed their moment of peace and quiet.

"Well," Auggie sighed happily. He raised his coffee mug as a toast, "Merry Christmas, everyone."

"Merry Christmas."


	18. Nebula

**a/n: Yes, I've neglected this story for ages. I just haven't had the time. So, as a way of saying sorry, I am posting this cute little oneshot about my most favorite OC couple: Ari and Ally. This is back when they're thirteen and aren't actually dating yet. But still cute and fluffy! Thanks for reading please review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Nebula<strong>

A cool wind blew across the roof of the Wilcox home. It swirled along the rooftop until it reached two thirteen year olds who stood against the railing of a second-story balcony. The wind picked up and tugged at their jackets and hair. With a frown, Ally zipped her jacket shut and tucked her hands deep into her pockets as she watched Ari.

"Is it almost ready?" she asked him curiously. He glanced briefly over his shoulder.

"Almost," he told her. He stood with his eye pressed to the narrow end of a telescope that he'd brought up to the balcony with them. He had said that it could be used to see the stars and all of the other things in space. Ally had rolled her eyes and said that she could see the stars just fine in the inky night sky. Ari's response had been a chuckle, along with the promise that he would impress her.

"Ally," Ari called his best friend from her thoughts.

"Hmm?" she hummed as she looked up, "Is it finally ready?"

"Not quite," Ari responded. She could hear his smile in his voice as he slowly twisted one of the telescope's knobs, "I was just wondering, do you know what a nebula is?"

"A nebula?" Ally tilted her head slightly.

"Yup."

"We just studied them in class last week," Ally said slowly, "They're clouds in space, made from gasses and dust and…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"And plasma," Ari supplied. Ally nodded even though she knew he couldn't see the action.

"Smartie pants," she teased.

"Well, have you ever wondered what one looks like?" Ari asked curiously.

"Not really," she answered, "I…I suppose they aren't very interesting. I'm not sure what plasma looks like, but I wouldn't think dust and air would look like much." Ari's response was to flash a smile over his shoulder. He pressed his eye to the telescope once more and then pulled away.

"It's ready," he was still smiling widely as he motioned to the telescope, "Would you like to take a look?"

Ally nodded fervently. She stepped forward and glanced at Ari. He was still grinning as he pointed to the eye piece on the telescope. Still a little unsure, Ally bent forward and looked through the little circle of glass. And gasped at what she saw.

It reminded her of a tie-dyed shirt. She had seen her father wear one before when he was lounging around the house. It had been a swirl of all sorts of colors, and Ally had thought it looked extremely pretty. But that paled in comparison to what she was looking at now.

"This is called a nebula," Ari explained, "All gas and dust and plasma."

Ally wasn't sure that 'gas, dust, and plasma' adequately described the sight before her.

The giant cloud was a swirl of bold colors; peach orange, forest green, magenta, and a dark, brilliant blue, all coalescing into a bright white-yellow that surrounded the cloud's glowing orange core. It stood out in stark contrast the star dotted black backdrop behind it. Only the star off to the right of the cloud stood out at brightly at the nebula, haloed in a circle of white light.

"Wow, Ari," Ally whispered.

"I thought you might like it," the boy responded sheepishly. Ally turned away from the telescope to look at him, her gaze finding eyes that shone the same brilliant blue of the nebula cloud. She blinked, surprised at the similar color, and then grinned. Ari only had enough time to blink back before she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"It's beautiful, Ari. Thank you."

Ari smiled in her arms, "That's what friends are for."


	19. Just So You Know

_a/n: I know, I know. I haven't updated this story in ages. I'm in college now so I'm having a hard time getting time to write. I'm really sorry about that. I'll make sure to write more in the next couple months! I have loads of story ideas and now that winter break is starting, I'll have loads of time to write them all! Anyways, thanks so so much for your love and support! Hope you enjoy this oneshot! Please review! :) They make me happy._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs.

* * *

><p><strong>Just So You Know<strong>

Just so you know, this is the scariest thing I've ever done. Just so you know, I really shouldn't be scared. She's not scared at all. She's absolutely sure this is a great idea. I'm terrified, just so you know. She's so happy, her voice is filled with so much excitement. I've never heard her more excited. So don't tell her about this, ok? It's just between you and me.

I've faced off with soldiers and viruses and assassins and terrorists and murderess and an angry Joan, and just so you know, it's nothing compared to this. Don't tell her though. She thinks there's nothing that can scare me. You know better though. You're sitting there, a smile on your face, watching me squirm. I'm scared out of my mind. But that's between you and me, she doesn't know. You say our little girl has eyes the color of rain. That scares me, just so you know.

"Are you coming?" She laughs. The sound reminds me of fairies.

"Yes."

I'm terrified, and I don't want to go. But she asked, and I can't say no. Not to her. She's not scared. Or worried either. She's absolutely thrilled. All smiles, all _laughter_. Just so you know, when I get home I might cry.

We walk down the street and head for the corner. Our little girl with eyes like rain says I'm walking to slow. Just so you know, I'm in no hurry. She takes my hand and pulls me along, she's not scared either. Apparently, I'm the only terrified one.

Just so you know, I may not make it to the corner. I may pass out from fear. Who knows what could happen? My feet just keep moving against my will. I'm not ready for this. I'll never ever be ready for this. She is though. She's been looking forward to it for months.

Our little girl sees her friends and waves to them. She releases my hand. Just so you know, I wish she wouldn't do that. I really wish she wouldn't let go. It's dangerous out here. This world is full of danger.

I know you think I'm a little paranoid but you say it's cute. You leave me standing here on the corner to go talk to the other parents nearby. Just so you know, I wish you were comforting me right now, like you did last night. I don't want to be here, just so you know.

Our little girl with eyes like rain says good-bye to you now. She is giggling and being pulled away by her friends. You hug her, all smiles and happiness and excitement. Just so you know, I'm not smiling on the inside like I'm pretending to on the outside.

Our little baby girl with eyes like rain gets on the bus, one stair at time. She rushes to pick a seat with the daughter of a neighbor. They both lean out the window to wave and call out to their families. Just so you know, I wish she wouldn't do that. _She could fall._

I hear you wave back, and so I wave back too. Just so you know, I wish she'd get off that bus. I hear the bus pull away and you take my hand in yours.

"She'll be home at three, Aug," I'm reminded with a giggle. Just so you know, I didn't want her to go. She's not ready. _I'm_ not ready. We could have waited one more year.

Just so you know, I never liked Catie's first day of school.


	20. Only Seven Hours Away

**a/n: I know, I know. It's been almost a year since I updated this story. Don't shoot me, please. I'm not dead, I'm in college (which is basically the same thing). I'll try to make an effort to update for frequently. I have a couple more ideas for this story that I've been roughly writing down. I'll try and clean those up and post them soon. Until then, please enjoy this addition. It's one of the longer one-shots (over 2,000 words!) so I hope that makes you all happy! **

**Disclaimer: _I do not own Covert Affairs. I do, however, own Ari and Ally._**

* * *

><p><strong>Only Seven Hours Away<strong>

Packing tape and cardboard boxes littered the home's living room. Bubble wrap and tufts of half crumpled newspaper snaked through the box-towers, a little river of packing material. In the middle of it sat a curly-haired teenager, nose deep in a thick textbook whose title read _Practical Bomb Scene Investigation, Second Edition._

"Ally, are you sure you have everything?" Annie called from somewhere down the hall.

"I'm sure," Ally called back. Her eyes still scanned the page.

"What about—?"

"Got it," Ally replied. She held up the backpack filled with new school supplies when Annie's blonde head rounded the corner.

"What about your books?" Auggie asked. His head appeared from the kitchen just as Annie's vanished back down the hall.

"Right here," Ally pointed, without looking, at the box labeled 'course textbooks.'

Auggie continued, "Do you have _all_ your books? Even the ones you wanted to buy even though they're not related in any way to your classes? Like that silly bomb one you're reading right now. Or the one on making your own art supplies. Or the one on tree house building."

Ally rolled her eyes, "They're not silly, they're interesting. And, hey, one day it could be useful."

"She get's it from your side of the family!" Annie shouted from somewhere down the hall.

"Do you have all your bedding?" Auggie asked next.

"In the same box it was yesterday," Ally answered. She hid a smile in her book as she jerked a thumb at the pair of large boxes sitting against the couch.

Annie reentered the living room, "And your—?"

"Toothbrush?" Ally finished for her, "Yeah, got it."

When Ally heard the sound of boxes being shuffled, she finally looked up from her book, only to spot her mother shift one of the larger boxes and eye its tape seal uncertainly.

"Mom, don't," Ally sighed before her mother can start trying to break into the box, "Trust me, we've double checked everything. Twice. I'm sure it's all here."

"I know," Annie nodded, and reluctantly she moved away from the box, "But you're going to be _so_ far away, and I would feel terrible if we left you all alone at that school without things you needed." Annie's expression shifted with the thought, and the next thing she knew, Ally was being pulled into a hug. It's got to be the tenth one she's received today.

"I won't be that far away," Ally said patiently. She hugged her mother in return, "Only seven hours. Catie went to college farther away than I am going. You had to _fly_ her there, remember? I'll be back soon for the holidays. And you can always mail me things I need."

"She's right," Auggie added and he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. Annie tried her best to look convinced, but was failing miserably.

"It's just a lot for a mother to take in," Annie said, wrinkling her nose at her husband and youngest daughter, "After all, my little girl moving away to college."

"I'll still come home a lot," Ally assured her. She grinned and ducked when her mother's statement created a renewed sense of pride in Auggie, which was expressed in an attempted ruffling of his daughter's sandy brown hair.

"I know you will," Annie told Ally, "But that doesn't mean we won't miss you all the time. We're going to be empty-nesters!"

Ally whined playfully in response and Annie rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

"Now that we know we've got everything…" Auggie said, letting his sentence hang in the air as he shot a pointed look in his wife's direction.

"Oh, right," she said, "We still need to get you to your school, don't we?"

"Sooner rather than later," Ally agreed, excitement glowing in her bright green eyes.

"Alright," Annie said, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips, "We'll get going then. But first, we need to load these boxes into the car."

Thankfully, Auggie and Annie kept in very good shape, so loading the heavy boxes was easy for them. And Ally, who is tall but lean, was able to move the boxes on sheer excitement, rather than strength. But eventually the boxes were all loaded up, split between their two cars, and then Ally was leading the charge on her very first ever drive to college.

* * *

><p>Seven hours and one apartment hunt later, Ally's many boxes had once again found their way out and onto the floor of a half furnished college apartment. And they'd found friends.<p>

"Do you think we remembered everything?" Jai asked his friends wryly as they stood in the middle of the living room, eyeing the ungodly number of boxes scattered around them. Somewhere down the hall their offspring were bouncing through bedrooms, engaged in the delicate art of claiming rooms—a delicate art that involved a lot of screamed 'I call this one's and quite a bit of wrestling from both the boys and girls. Ari and Ally, since they both decided they wanted to go to Harvard, thought it would be practical to live together, along with a pair of fraternal twins and good friends from high school who also happened to go to Harvard.

"Do you think letting them live together is a good idea?" Auggie asked. He shot a worried look in his wife's direction. She was sitting on the apartment's worn brown leather sofa.

"It's cheaper for the four of them to share an apartment than it is for them to separately get dorm rooms," Annie shrugged, "They have their own bedrooms. Besides, even if we made them live separately, they would still spend nights together."

Standing beside Jai, wringing her hands, Reva looked like she shared Auggie's concern.

"Rev, there's nothing to worry about," Jai said, noticing his wife's distressed look, "They'll be fine here. They are living with two other friends. They technically have separate bedrooms. They snuck out practically every night in high school, remember?"

"That's true," Reva admitted. She smiled at her husband, "I just can't help but worry. He's my only baby."

"Jai is right," Ally appears at her father's side and places a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Everything is fine. We spent plenty of nights together in high school. This is no different. And you know Ari; he's a nice guy."

"I know," Auggie said as he turned to his daughter.

"Who's a nice guy?" Ari walked into the living room from down the hallway to join in the conversation.

"You are, silly," Ally laughs, "My dad is just being his normal, over-protective self."

Auggie shrugged, "It just takes some getting used to. My little girl is moving in with her boyfriend."

"And two other friends," Ally adds quickly, placing her hands on her hips.

Ari looks concerned, "Look, Auggie, if you're not comfortable with this—"

"I'm okay with it," Auggie interrupts, "It's just hard. She's my baby girl."

"We trust you," Reva smiles at her son, although she frowned when she got a good look at him, "You've only been here twenty minutes," she sighed. She tries to paw Ari's messy black hair back into place and wipe a smudge from his cheek. Ari dodged her ministrations playfully.

"Come on, Mom," he laughs and grabs her hand, "Mom, Dad. Let me show you my new room!"

* * *

><p>The gathered parents and teenagers spent the rest of the afternoon unloading boxes and decorating rooms. Annie and Auggie were forced to admit that maybe they over packed. But at least they didn't under-pack, like one of Ari and Ally's new roommates, who seemed to keep finding things he'd forgotten ("How do you forget your toothbrush?" an exasperated mother asked her son, before his twin sister answered with a quick, "It's not forgetting if he's never used one in the first place!").<p>

Eventually they found themselves standing in an unpacked apartment, surrounded by piles of crushed boxes that the assembled parents had universally agreed should be dealt with by their newly-adult, responsible children.

Goodbyes soon followed, and suddenly kids who'd been razzing their parents to leave for hours were suddenly thinking of last minute things to talk about and 'can you just check this one thing for me's. The parents took it in stride, even less willing to begin their separation from their children, but all too soon there was nothing left to talk about or look at our any other reasons to stay. With barely restrained tears from their mothers and strong-armed hugs from their fathers, Ari and Ally were finally left to fend for themselves in their four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.

And then the parents were parting ways too. Annie and Auggie and Reva and Jai exchanged promises to see each other more outside of work, come visit their children for dinners, and to get together for whatever other activities suddenly kid-free parents indulged in. Then, with a final assurance from Auggie that their children's apartment wouldn't likely still be standing in a week, they parted ways and all began their seven-hour car rides home.

* * *

><p>"Do you think she'll be okay?" Annie asked after they'd been driving in silence for a while.<p>

"I'm sure she will," Auggie smiled. He could sense the uncertainty radiating off of his wife, and he reached over and placed a reassuring hand on her knee as she drove. Her knee was tense, but her husband's touch instantly helped her relax.

"You know Ally," Auggie said, "She's spunky and strong and creative and smart. She has a lot of friends. She has Ari with her. She's friendly and polite. She'll get along with her classmates. And you know she'll email or call almost every day."

"I know," Annie sighed, "I just can't help but worry. She's very energetic…and I worry that might get her into trouble. She loves danger and creativity. She's borrowed every power tool in our garage at one point or another. Sneaking off with Ari at all hours of the night on adventures."

"She's a dreamer," Auggie nods, "But Ari is very level-headed. He can keep her out of too much trouble."

"I still worry."

"And she'll be home for Christmas."

Annie smiled. Auggie always knew how to make her calm down. Being with family, even if it was a family cobbled together by friends, had become incredibly important to Annie. More than once she'd told Auggie just how glad she was Ally hadn't accepted the school offers she'd been getting from other countries—even other continents—and had chosen to stay within a long drive's distance. Local enough for holidays with her family.

"She will be home for Christmas," Annie agreed. Auggie noticed his wife's knee was no longer tense. Now if only he could distract her just a little more…

"And you know, with Ally being gone, and Catie living with her boyfriend James for her senior year of college, we'll be able to do more with just the two of us," Auggie whispered huskily. He felt Annie perk up under the hand on her knee.

"What kind of more?" the tone of her voice danced playfully.

"Oh, you know," Auggie felt mischievous, "I might have a surprise planned for us."

"Really?" Annie gasped and smiled wide. Auggie loved it when his wife was happy, and he could do nothing to hide the grin on his face.

"Yes, Really."

"Oh honey, thank you!" Annie grinned. She placed her own hand on top of his and squeezed it, "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Auggie whispered back. In reality, he didn't have a plan at all. He was going to have to scramble when they got home to pull something together that was worthy of his wife's excitement. But he wouldn't mind the effort, and he would never regret putting himself in a position where he had to do it.

The happiness in his wife's voice was worth it all to Auggie, and he'd do anything for Annie, if only it meant getting to hear her voice smile just one more time.


	21. Baby Girl

**a/n: Another Auggie-Angsty oneshot about his children leaving him. Enjoy! Please review, they make me smile :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. I do own Ally, Catie, and Ari though! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Baby Girl<strong>

It felt as if only yesterday, Ally was six years old.

Then, Auggie practically _blinked _and his baby girl was suddenly a married woman.

He could still hear that soft growling of hers when she couldn't get her way. Hear her singing off-key in the shower or humming to herself as she stirred her morning coffee. Hear her quiet footsteps as she snuck out of the house to go on late-night adventures with Ari.

She grew up from a curious, innocent little girl to a spunky, stubborn woman. She had kept her sense of curiosity…but something had changed over time. When she was little, Ally loved to ask 'why'. She was so curious about everything, and would ask her father a million questions.

'_Why is the sky blue?'  
>'Where do babies come from?'<br>'Why are you blind?'  
>'Why do dogs and cats walk on four legs?'<br>'Where does the moon go when it's daytime?'  
>'Why do the leaves change colors in the fall?'<em>

It drove him crazy at the time, but now he misses all of her questions. When he answered her questions, she would hang onto every word he said. She used to believe whatever answer he gave her, trusting him entirely.

But then she grew up. She answers her own questions now.

And Auggie can't help but realize how much things have changed.

He remembers the feeling of Ally's fragile little hands wrapping around his own. They were so small compared to his. Those very hands went on to become skilled at Karate. They became so strong and tough that it worried him. She got older, stronger, tougher. She grew up.

But most of all, Auggie could still remember how, whenever he and Annie would bicker about work, Ally would wrap her arms around Catie and they would both shut their eyes tight, as if they were defending themselves from the ill-intended words. Auggie could still hear Ally whisper to her older sister that 'things would be okay and mom and dad are just tired'. Ally liked to act like the older sister, not the younger one. Later, he would pick his girls up and hold them firmly to his chest and assure them that Ally was right. Mommy and Daddy were just tired. Work was stressful but, of course, they still love each other. Eventually, Catie and Ally would relax and fall asleep snuggled against his chest.

Auggie sighed and turned his attention back to his beautiful baby girl.

He had been told a thousand and one times how stunning she looked in her wedding dress. She was more happy the she'd been in a very long time. She was brighter than the sun, constantly smiling and laughing and chatting with her guests. She was practically glowing. She was certainly a sight to behold.

And Auggie wanted nothing more than for his daughter to be Happy. To see his little girl be happy with the man she loved.

But, there was a part of him that couldn't shake the concealed feeling of loss. Couldn't shake the underlying feeling of sadness. Despite how happy he was for his youngest daughter, his heart still clenched in his chest painfully.

Because as Auggie listened to his daughter twirl around the dance floor with her new husband, he felt as if a torch had been passed without his consent.

He would no longer be the first person she would turn to whenever she felt scared or alone.

He would no longer be the one to answer her endless supply of questions.

He would no longer be the person to whisper soothing words in her ear to calm her whenever she was in doubt.

He would no longer be the person at her side at all times.

…That was Ari's job now.

Auggie sighed and refused to let the pent up tears flow. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall behind him as he listened to his daughter dance with his new son-in-law.

Auggie had to accept the fact that his baby girl was now grown up. He had to accept that she had fallen in love. Had to accept she was moving on, moving out, and moving in with someone else. Had to accept she just got married today.

He had to accept that he was being replaced.

He always knew it had to happen eventually...He just wished it didn't have to happen so _soon_.


End file.
